Expressing preferences declaratively in logic-based agent languages
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Direction: Decide the following statements are True (T) or False (F).1.Reasoning is the process by which you reach a conclusion after thinking about all the facts.2.Critical thinking is a cognitive activity, associated with using the mind.3.All factual claims are true.4.Critical thinking puts greater emphasis on the thinking of negative aspects of an issue.5.Every issue requires an accounts for resolution.6. The conclusion of an argument states a position on the issue under consideration and the premise gives reasons for taking that position.7. Cognitive biases interfere with our ability to thinking clearlyand reason objectively.8. A tendency to attach more weight to considerations thatsupport our views is called belief bias.9. Bandwagon effect is a powerful source of cognitive distortion,which means people tend to modify their own views tomake them consonant with those of other people.10. Negativity bias refers to the unconscious tendency to avoidnegative information when evaluating things.11. God exists in this world is an argument.12. I like eating strawberries because they tasted sweet is an argument .13. The film Fast and Furious is popular around the world and all fans are expecting the new serial is an argument.14. Kunming is a beautiful city which is known as the eternal spring city is an argument.15. “President Lincoln was the finest U.S President in history” is an objective claim.16. Whether an objective claim is true or false depends on whether people think it is true or false.17. Critical thinking should include biases or emotions.18. All arguments have a conclusion.19. Relativism is the idea that if the standards of evidence or truth are different for two culture, there is no independent way of saying which standards are the correct ones.20.All valid arguments are sound arguments21.Clarity of language is extremely important to the ability to think critically.22.Clarity of language can often be lost as a result of multiple causes, including, importantly, vagueness, ambiguity, and generality.23. Vagueness is a matter of degree; what matters is not being too vague for the purposes at hand.24. A statement is ambiguous when it is subject to more than one interpretation and it isn't clear which interpretation is the correct one.25.Some main types of ambiguity are semantic ambiguity, syntactic ambiguity, grouping ambiguity, and ambiguous pronoun reference.26. A sound argument cannot have a false conclusion.27. If … then …” sentences may be arguments28. Whether a passage contains an argument depends on how long it is.29. All opinion are subjective30. Statements,claims and assertions are the same thing. PartII. Directions:Choose the best answer for the following 6 questions.31. This bias is present when most members of a group think they are better at something than most other members of the group.A. Belief bias.B. Better-than-average illusion.C. Fundamental attribution.D. Bandwagon effect.32. A critical thinker tries to ________.A. overstate conclusionsB. understate conclusionsC. evaluate argumentsD. persuade an audience33. This is the tendency to carry out orders from a superior without question.A. Obedience to authorityB. Negativity BiasC. Bandwagon effectD. Fundamental attribution error34. The conclusion of an argument is also calledthe .A. answer.B. argument.C. premise.D. thesis.35. What type of reasoning involves weighing considerations for or against making a certain decision?A. Rational Adjudication.B. Inference to the Best Explanation.C. Common SenseD. Balance of considerations.36. Which of these words indicates a premise?A. Therefore.B. Since.C. Consequently.D. Hence.37. In a inductive argument, when the premise do not adequately support the conclusion, the argument is .A. invalidB. unsoundC. strongD. weak38.All Dobermans are dogs. Some dogs like to bark. Therefore some Dobermans like to bark . The tendency to accept this argument at first glance may be due to .A. self-serving biasB. negativity biasC. confirmation biasD. belief bias39. What bias is in effect when you assume that the candidate whose name you see the most often is probably the most popular candidate?A. Obedience to authority.B. Availability heuristic.C. Majority rules.D. Bandwagon effect.40. What is the result of expressing a belief, judgment, or opinion in a declarative sentence?A. A claim.B. A question.C. An exclamation.D. An sentence.41. The first and essential step in understanding an argument is toA. spot the conclusion.B. identify thepremise.C. determine whether it is true.D. determine whether it is valid.42. Identify a true statement about premise.A. They are absent in a piece of pure rhetoricB. All the premise being used to justify a conclusion must be stated explicitlyC. All the premise being used to justify a conclusion must be commonly known truthsD. They are absent in an argument43. Which list of words indicate a conclusion will follow?.A. Accordingly, consequently, thereforeB. Given that, because, sinceC. Accordingly, because, thereforeD. Hence, given that, because.44. What is the result of expressing a belief, judgment, or opinion in a declarative sentence?A. A claimB. A questionC. An exclamationD. An answer PartIII. Match Exercise (10%)Directions:Please match the two statements with the different terms marked A and B.45. Assuming that society in general shares the views held by usand the people we know is the ______ effect46. The______ of an argument is what the premise supposedlysupports or demonstrates.A. conclusionB. falseconsensus47. When you try to support a conclusion, you are using_________ reasoning.48. When there is an unstated premise, you should usethe__________ and content to clarify if the argument is deductive or inductive.A. inductiveB. context49. _________ambiguity arises when a word or phrase has more than one meaning.50. Lack of detail and specificity in a word can cause trouble in our understanding, we are confused by_________.A. SemanticB. generality。
2024年教师资格考试高级中学英语学科知识与教学能力模拟试卷与参考答案一、单项选择题(本大题有30小题,每小题2分,共60分)1、题干:The teacher’s ability to foster critical thinking in students is particularly important in the discipline of ________.A. MathematicsB. HistoryC. EnglishD. Science答案:C解析:The correct answer is C. English. The question emphasizes the importance of fostering critical thinking, which is a key aspect of language arts education. English as a discipline often emphasizes critical thinking skills, such as analyzing texts and interpreting literature, which makes it the most relevant option among the choices provided.2、题干:Which of the following is NOT a common instructional strategy used to promote student engagement in an English class?A. Group discussionsB. Project-based learningC. Teacher-centered lecturesD. Socratic seminars答案:C解析:The correct answer is C. Teacher-centered lectures. The question asks for the instructional strategy that is NOT common for promoting student engagement. Group discussions (A), project-based learning (B), and Socratic seminars (D) are all known to increase student participation and engagement.Teacher-centered lectures (C), on the other hand, are more traditional and may not encourage active student involvement as much as the other strategies.3、The se ntence “She has a bright smile” can be paraphrased as:A. She has a cheerful expression.B. She has a dim smile.C. She has a bright thought.D. She has a dark smile.Answer: AExplanation: The phrase “a bright smile” implies a pleasant and friendly expres sion, which can be accurately paraphrased as “a cheerful expression.” The other options either change the meaning or are not close synonyms of the original phrase.4、Which of the following sentences is an example of a declarative sentence?A. “Where is my pen?”B. “I will be there tomorrow.”C. “Don’t you think she’s talented?”D. “Can you help me with this?”Answer: BExplanation: A declarative sentence makes a statement or declares a fact. “I will be there tomorrow” is a clear statement of future intentio n, making it a declarative sentence. The other options are questions (A and D) or a tag question (C), which are not declarative sentences.5、The teacher’s role in the classroom is crucial for student learning. Which of the following statements best describes the role of a teacher in fostering student engagement?A)The teacher should act as a passive facilitator, allowing students to guide their ownlearning.B)The teacher should dominate the class, ensuring that all students follow the samecurriculum.C)The teacher should create a supportive and interactive environment that encouragesstudent participation.D)The teacher should primarily focus on correcting student mistakes to improve theirperformance.Answer: C) The teacher should create a supportive and interactive environment that encourages student participation.Explanation: A supportive and interactive classroom environment is essential for student engagement. This approach allows students to actively participate in their learning, which can lead to better understanding and retention of the material.6、When designing a lesson plan for a unit on environmental conservation, which of the following teaching strategies would be most effective in promoting critical thinking and understanding among students?A)Presenting a lecture and providing a list of facts about different environmental issues.B)Using multimedia presentations to showcase images and videos related toenvironmental conservation.C)Facilitating a debate or discussion on the causes and solutions to environmentalproblems.D)Assigning a research project where students investigate a specific environmentalissue.Answer: C) Facilitating a debate or discussion on the causes and solutions to environmental problems.Explanation: A debate or discussion encourages students to think critically about the topic, analyze different perspectives, and develop arguments. This interactive approach can enhance their understanding and appreciation of the complexities involved in environmental conservation.7、The following sentence is a fragment. Which of the following words can be added to make it a complete sentence?A. The students enjoyed the movie, but they _______.B. The students were enjoying the movie _______.C. The students enjoyed the movie _______.D. The students were enjoying the movie, and they _______.Answer: BExplanation: The sentence “The students were enjoying the movie” is a complete sentence on its own. The word “but” can be added to show contrast with the following clause, making it a compound sentence. The other options do not make the sentence grammatically correct or complete.8、Which of the following sentence structures is most appropriate for describing a sequence of events?A. It is important that we should do this, because it will help us learn.B. The first step is to collect the necessary information, the second step is to analyze it, and the final step is to make a decision.C. Although we tried, we were unable to reach the destination on time.D. If we do not act now, the situation will become worse.Answer: BExplanation: The structure “The first step is to collect the necessary information, the second step is to analyze it, and the final step is to make a decision” effectively describes a sequence of events, with each step clearly identified. The other options do not present a clear sequence of events.9、The sentence “The students were all engaged in their activities when the bell rang.” is an example of which tense structure?A. Simple PresentB. Simple PastC. Present ContinuousD. Past ContinuousAnswer: C. Present ContinuousExplanation: The sentence describes an action that was ongoing at the moment the bell rang. The present continuous tense is used to talk about actions happening at the moment of speaking, which fits the context of the sentence.10、In the following sentence, “She has finished her homework and is now preparing for the exam,” which part of speech is underlined?A. has finishedB. herC. nowD. preparingAnswer: D. preparingExplanation: The underlined word “preparing” is a gerund, which is a verb form that functions as a noun. Gerunds are often used as subjects, objects, or complements in sentences. In this case, “preparing” is the gerund that functions as the subject of the second clause.11.The teacher, who has been teaching for five years, is highly respected by his students for his_______teaching style.A. creativeB. strictC. humorousD. traditionalAnswer: AExplanation: The question is asking about the teacher’s teaching style that is highly respected by his students. “Creative” is the most appropriate choice to describe a style that is likely to be respected, as it implies innovation and engagement in the teaching process.12.In order to enhance the students’ reading comprehension, the teacher uses a variety of_______techniques in her English class.A. readingB. questioningC. listeningD. writingAnswer: BExplanation: The question is inquiring about the techniques used to improve reading comprehension in an English class. “Questioning” techniques, such as Socratic questioning or guided inquiry, are specifically designed to enhance comprehension and critical thinking skills, making it the most suitable answer among the options provided.13、What is the most appropriate tense to use when describing a routine activity that occurs on a daily basis?A. Present simpleB. Present perfectC. Past simpleD. Future simpleAnswer: A. Present simpleExplanation: The present simple tense is used to describe habits, regular routines, and general truths. It is the correct tense to use when referring to daily activities that are habits or routines.14、Which of the following sentences uses the correct form of the passive voice?A. The students are given by the teacher.B. The teacher gives the students.C. The students are given to by the teacher.D. The students are given from the teacher.Answer: C. The students are given to by the teacher.Explanation: The passive voice is formed by using the past participle of the verb after “be” followed by the subject. In this case, “given” is the past participle of “give.” The correct construction uses “given to by” to indicate that the students are the recipients of the action.15.The teacher is discussing the importance of reading aloud with the students. Which of the following statements is the most appropriate to use in this context?A)“Reading silently is better because it helps you concentrate better.”B)“Reading aloud is unnecessary; it only slows down the reading process.”C)“Reading aloud is beneficial because it enhances comprehension and pronunciation.”D)“We should only read aloud in class when we have time.”Answer: CExplanation: The correct answer is C because it highlights the positive aspects of reading aloud, such as improving comprehension and pronunciation. The other options either dismiss the importance of reading aloud or suggest it is unnecessary, which are not appropriate responses in the context of discussing its benefits.16.In a lesson on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the teacher wants to engage students in a debate about the theme of fate versus free will. Which activity would best facilitate this discussion?A)Assigning students to write a short essay on the theme.B)Organizing a group discussion with prepared questions.C)Playing a scene from the movie adaptation of the play.D)Giving students a multiple-choice quiz about the characters.Answer: BExplanation: The correct answer is B because it encourages active participation and discussion among the students, which is ideal for exploring complex themes like fate versus free will. The other options either focus on individual writing or passive consumption, which may not foster the kind of interactive and critical thinking required for this type of discussion.17.The sentence “She is as tall as her father” is an example of which sentence structure?A. ComparisonB. ConditionalC. FutureD. PastAnswer: AExplanation: The sentence “She is as tall as her father” is using the comparison structure to show that two things (her height and her father’s height) are equal.18.Which of the following sentence is correct in terms of verb tense and subject-verb agreement?A. The dog run in the park every morning.B. The dogs are runs in the park every morning.C. The dog runs in the park every morning.D. The dogs is runs in the park every morning.Answer: CExplanation: The correct sentence is “The dog runs in the park every morning.” It uses the present simple tense correctly with the subject “dog,” which is singular, and agrees with the singular verb “runs.” The other options have incorrect verb tenses or subject-verb agreement errors.19.The teacher is using a teaching strategy to encourage student participation. Which of the following is the most appropriate strategy for discussing a complex historical event?A)Presenting a detailed timeline of the event.B)Asking students to write a brief summary of the event.C)Pairing students to debate the causes and effects of the event.D)Showing a documentary about the event.Answer: C) Pairing students to debate the causes and effects of the event.Explanation: Pairing students to debate a complex historical event encourages critical thinking and collaborative learning. It allows students to engage with the material from different perspectives, fostering a deeper understanding of the event.20.In the context of English language teaching, which of the following activities is most effective for improving students’ listening skills?A)Reading aloud a passage of text and asking students to retell it.B)Listening to a short story and then summarizing the main points.C)Watching a video clip and discussing the characters’ motivations.D)Listening to a dialogue and then analyzing the pronunciation of the speakers.Answer: B) Listening to a short story and then summarizing the main points.Explanation: Listening to a short story and summarizing the main points helps students practice active listening skills, identify key information, and improve their ability to process and recall spoken language. It also encourages them to engage with the content on a deeper level.21.The sentence “He has lived here for ten years, but he doesn’t feel at home yet.” demonstrates which of the following sentence structures?A)SimpleB)ComplexC)CompoundD)Complex-complexAnswer: B) ComplexExplanation: This sentence is a complex sentence because it has one mainclause (“He doesn’t feel at home yet”) and one or more dependent clauses that provide additional information. The dependent clause “He has lived here for ten years” adds extra informa tion about the main clause.22.Which of the following phrases is an example of a gerund phrase?A)To eating ice creamB)Eating ice creamC)Eat ice creamD)Eating ice-creamAnswer: B) Eating ice creamExplanation: A gerund phrase is a phrase that functions as a noun and consists of a gerund (a verb form that ends in -ing and functions as a noun). In this case, “Eating ice cream” is a gerund phrase that can act as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence. The other options do not fit the definition of a gerund phrase.23.What is the main purpose of using cooperative learning in the English classroom?A)To ensure that all students have the same level of English proficiency.B)To encourage students to work independently and develop their own learningstrategies.C)To promote interaction and collaboration among students.D)To test students’ ability to work under time pressure.Answer: CExplanation: The main purpose of using cooperative learning in the English classroom is topromote interaction and collaboration among students. This approach helps students develop their communication skills, critical thinking, and teamwork abilities.24.Which of the following activities is most suitable for assessing students’ understanding of a literary text in an English class?A) A written test that covers all the details of the text.B) A group discussion where students present their own interpretations of the text.C)An individual project that requires students to create a visual representation of thetext.D) A multiple-choice quiz that tests students’ recall of the main events.Answer: BExplanation: A group discussion where students present their own interpretations of the textis the most suitable activity for assessing students’ understanding of a literary text. This method encourages critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas. It also promotes peer learning and collaboration.25.The following sentence is a direct quote. Which one of the following punctuation marks is correctly used at the end of the quote?A)Period (.)B)Question mark (?)C)Exclamation mark (!)D)Semicolon (;)Answer: A) Period (.)Explanation: When a direct quote is used within a sentence, it is always followed by a period. The period signifies the end of the quote.26.In the following sentence, “They had been working on the project for months, and it was finally completed,” the comma after “months” is used to:A)Separate a list of itemsB)Introduce a non-restrictive relative clauseC)Indicate a pause in the sentenceD)Separate independent clausesAnswer: B) Introduce a non-restrictive relative clause.Explanation: The comma after “months” i s used to introduce anon-restrictive relative clause, which provides additional information about the subject but is not essential to the main idea of the sentence. The clause “and it was finally completed” adds detail to the time frame of the project.27.The following sentence contains an error in verb tense usage. Which one is it?A. The students will be working on their projects until the end of the month.B. The students worked on their projects last week.C. The students are working on their projects at the moment.D. The students will have worked on their projects by the end of the month.Answer: BExplanation: The sentence that contains an error in verb tense usage is B. The correct tense should be present continuous for the ongoing action, but “worked” is in the past simple tense, which does not fit with the present continuous tense of “are working” in the other parts of the sentence.28.Choose the word that best fits the blank in the following sentence:The teacher_______to the students that the exam would be postponed due to bad weather.A. mentionedB. suggestedC. notifiedD. impliedAnswer: CExplanation: The correct word to fill in the blank is “notified.” The teacher is informing the students of an important change, which is best described by “notified,” meaning to inform formally. “Mentioned” could also be correct, but “notified” is more formal and appropriate for official announcements. “Suggested” and “implied” do not fit the context of formally informing students of a change.29、Which of the following is NOT a component of communicative language teaching (CLT)?A) Focus on accuracyB) Emphasis on using the language for real communicationC) Grammar translation as the main activityD) Task-based learning activitiesAnswer: C) Grammar translation as the main activityExplanation: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) emphasizes the use of language for real communication and often incorporates task-based learningactivities. While focus on accuracy is also important, CLT moves away from the traditional grammar-translation method, which focuses more on the analysis and translation of written texts rather than the ability to communicate effectively in the target language.30、In the context of second language acquisition, what does the term “comprehensible input” refer to?A) Input that is slightly above the learner’s current level of competenceB) Input that is slightly below the learner’s current level of competenceC) Input that matches exactly the learner’s current level of competenceD) Any form of input regardless of the learner’s level of competenceAnswer: A) Input that is slightly above the learner’s current level of competenceExplanation: The concept of “comprehensible input,” developed by Stephen Krashen, suggests that learners acquire language best when they receive input that is just beyond their current linguistic capabilities, known as i+1, where “i” represents the learner’s current language level and “+1” is the next level of language complexity. This type of input challenges learners without overwhelming them, facilitating language acquisition effectively.二、简答题(20分)Question:In your opinion, what are the key factors that contribute to successful language learning inhigh school students? Explain how you would incorporate these factors into your teaching practice.Answer:The key factors that contribute to successful language learning in high school students include:1.Motivation: Motivation plays a crucial role in language learning. High school students need to be intrinsically motivated to learn the language, as well as extrinsically motivated by the goals and expectations set by their teachers and parents. As a teacher, I would create a positive learning environment by using engaging materials, encouraging students to set personal goals, and recognizing their achievements.2.Interaction: Interaction among students and with the teacher is essential for language learning. By incorporating activities such as group discussions, role-playing, and pair work, I would encourage students to communicate in English and practice their speaking and listening skills.3.Authentic materials: Using authentic materials such as newspapers, films, and songs can help students connect the language they learn in the classroom to real-life situations. I would integrate these materials into my lessons to provide students with practical language use.4.Effective assessment: Regular and varied assessment methods can help students monitor their progress and identify areas for improvement. As a teacher, I would use formative and summative assessments to track student performance and adapt my teaching strategies accordingly.5.Collaborative learning: Encouraging students to collaborate and worktogether can enhance their language skills and foster a sense of community in the classroom. I would incorporate group projects, peer tutoring, and cooperative learning activities to promote collaboration among students.6.Individual differences: Recognizing and addressing individual differences among students is crucial for successful language learning. I would differentiate my instruction by using varied teaching methods, providing additional support for struggling students, and challenging advanced learners.Incorporating these factors into my teaching practice would involve: •Creating a motivating and supportive learning environment•Incorporating interactive and collaborative activities•Utilizing authentic materials•Employing various assessment methods•Differentiating instruction to meet individual student needs•Continuously reflecting on and improving my teaching strategiesBy focusing on these key factors, I believe that high school students can achieve successful language learning and develop their English language skills.三、教学情境分析题(30分)III.Teaching Situation Analysis (30 points)Question 1:You are a high school English teacher preparing to teach a unit on American literature. Your students come from diverse backgrounds and have varying levelsof English proficiency. You notice that some students are particularly interested in contemporary issues, while others prefer classic literature. Considering these factors, design a lesson plan for a 45-minute class session that incorporates both traditional and modern elements of American literature. The lesson should aim to engage all students and foster critical thinking about the relevance of literature today. Include:•Objectives•Materials needed•Activities and procedures•Assessment methodsAnswer:Lesson Plan: Bridging Past and Present Through American LiteratureObjectives:1.Students will explore themes common to both classical and contemporary American literature.2.Students will analyze how different literary works reflect societal changes over time.3.Students will engage in a group discussion to compare and contrast two texts: one classical and one contemporary.Materials Needed:1.Excerpts from “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald (classical text).2.A short story or poem from a contemporary author such as “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri.3.Handouts with guiding questions for each text.4.Access to online resources for additional research if available.Activities and Procedures:1.Introduction (5 minutes): Briefly introduce the authors and provide historical context for their works.2.Reading and Individual Analysis (20 minutes): Distribute the excerpts and handouts. Instruct students to read the texts silently and answer the guiding questions individually.3.Group Discussion (15 minutes): Organize students into small groups to share their insights and discuss the similarities and differences between the texts. Encourage them to consider how each work reflects its respective era.4.Whole-Class Sharing (5 minutes): Invite each group to present key points from their discussion to the class.Assessment Methods:1.Participation in group discussions will be observed and noted.2.Students’ written response s to the guiding questions will be collected and evaluated for comprehension and critical analysis.3.Group presentations will be assessed based on clarity, engagement, and depth of analysis.Analysis:This lesson plan addresses the diverse interests and English proficiency levels of the students by combining classical and contemporary literature. It allows for differentiated instruction, as students can choose which text theyfeel more comfortable with initially, yet still exposes them to both. The guiding questions facilitate deeper understanding and encourage students to make connections between the texts and the world around them, thereby enhancing their critical thinking skills. The combination of individual work, group discussion, and whole-class sharing ensures multiple opportunities for engagement and learning, catering to different learning styles and preferences within the classroom.四、教学设计题(40分)Question:Design a 45-minute lesson plan for an Advanced High School English class on the topic of “Global Warming and Its Impact on the Environment”. The lesson should include activities that encourage critical thinking, group discussion, and a creative project. Students are expected to be able to identify the causes of global warming, discuss its effects, and propose potential solutions.Answer:Lesson Title: “The Perils of Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions”Objective:By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:1.Identify the main causes of global warming.2.Discuss the effects of global warming on the environment.3.Propose potential solutions to mitigate the impact of global warming.Materials:1.Projector and screen2.Handouts with facts about global warming3.Whiteboard and markers4.Chart paper5.Pencils and colored markersLesson Outline:I. Introduction (10 minutes)1.Begin with a short video clip on global warming to spark students’ interest.2.Ask students to write down three things they learned from the video.3.Facilitate a class discussion on what global warming is and its importance.II.Group Work - Causes of Global Warming (15 minutes)1.Divide the class into small groups of four.2.Distribute handouts with facts about the causes of global warming.3.Instruct each group to identify at least three causes and explain their impact.4.Each group will create a poster highlighting their findings.5.Allow groups to present their posters to the class.III.Class Discussion - Effects of Global Warming (15 minutes)1.Discuss the effects of global warming on the environment, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and loss of biodiversity.2.Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to share their opinions and experiences.3.Summarize the key points on the whiteboard.IV.Creative Project - Potential Solutions (5 minutes)1.Instruct students to work in pairs to brainstorm potential solutions to mitigate the impact of global warming.2.Give each pair 5 minutes to present their ideas to the class.V. Conclusion (5 minutes)1.Summarize the main points discussed in the lesson.2.Encourage students to continue exploring the topic outside the classroom.Explanation:The lesson plan is designed to engage students in an interactive and thought-provoking way. By using a combination of videos, group work, and class discussions, students will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the causes, effects, and potential solutions to global warming. The creative project allows students to apply their knowledge and come up with innovative ideas to tackle this pressing issue.。
Q1答案:A解析:mark“标记”,marked“显著的”。
所在句的上半句提到我们认为artistic efforts是比较粗劣的,然后转折,提到他们应该有技巧,considerable“相当大的”,正确。
surprising“令人惊讶的”,limited“有限的”,adequate“充足的”在这里意思有点过,并且跟“显著的”意思也不符合。
Q2答案:B解析:此题可以使用排除法,原文一共提到了三个地方岩画的年龄,南非28000年前,欧洲和南非一样,澳洲30000年前,所以澳洲最老,A错误,D也错误;B说28000年前,原文既然说欧洲和非洲一样,当然也是28000年前,所以B 正确;C刚好和原文相反,错误。
Q3答案:A解析:principal“主要的”,所以major是正确答案,likely“可能”,well protected “保护好的”,distinct“明显的”在这里意思都不符合。
Q4答案:D解析:以magical-religious activities做关键词定位至(3)的这句话,inner reach 和difficult to access都说明D是正确的,因为四个答案中只有D的hard-to-reach places与文中的difficult to access相对应。
Q5答案:D解析:trappings,复数的时候只有一个意思是“装饰物”。
原文与之并列的是backdrop,而backdrop指背景,所以problems“问题”和influences是完全不合文意的,注意condition选项颇具迷惑性,但条件跟背景的并列明显不如D“装饰”decorations的并列更好。
Q6答案:C解析:原文的结构是旧石器时代的人相信the drawing of a human image could cause death of injury,如果真是这样,it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art。
Respecting diversity and embracing the choices of others is a fundamental aspect of a harmonious society.In a world that is increasingly interconnected,it is crucial to understand and appreciate the differences that make each individual unique.This essay will explore the importance of respecting differences and the benefits that come from embracing a variety of choices.Firstly,respecting differences fosters a sense of unity and inclusiveness.When we acknowledge and accept the unique qualities of others,we create an environment where everyone feels valued and respected.This sense of belonging is essential for social cohesion and can lead to stronger communities and societies.Secondly,embracing diverse choices encourages creativity and innovation.When people are free to make their own decisions and express their individuality,it leads to a rich tapestry of ideas and perspectives.This diversity of thought can drive progress and lead to groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in various fields.Moreover,respecting differences and choices promotes personal growth and development. When we expose ourselves to different viewpoints and experiences,we expand our understanding of the world and gain new insights.This broadened perspective can help us become more empathetic,openminded,and adaptable individuals.However,it is important to note that respecting differences does not mean tolerating harmful or discriminatory practices.It is essential to strike a balance between accepting diversity and upholding ethical standards and values.In conclusion,respecting differences and embracing a variety of choices is vital for creating a more inclusive,innovative,and dynamic society.By fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and free to express themselves,we can unlock the full potential of human creativity and progress.It is our collective responsibility to promote understanding,acceptance,and respect for the diverse choices that make our world a richer and more vibrant place.。
整合营销学培训教程目标一致性是指整合营销学的各个营销活动应该以共同的目标为导向,通过协调和配合,实现品牌的整体目标。
信息一致性是指整合营销学的各个传播手段应该传递一致的信息,以避免给消费者造成混淆。
渠道一致性是指整合营销学应该协调和整合不同的渠道,使其具有一致性和互补性。
过程一致性是指整合营销学应该形成一个有序的流程,使各个营销活动和传播手段相互联系和配合。
实施整合营销学的步骤是确定目标、选择传播手段、制定整合计划、实施计划并进行监测和评估。
首先,确定目标是整合营销学的第一步,通过分析市场和竞争环境,确定品牌的整体目标和具体营销活动的目标。
其次,选择传播手段是整合营销学的关键步骤,要根据目标和目标受众选择最适合的传播手段,如电视广告、网络营销和社交媒体等。
然后,制定整合计划是整合营销学的重要环节,要将不同的传播手段有机地组合起来,制定详细的实施计划。
最后,实施计划并进行监测和评估是整合营销学的最后一步,通过实施计划并及时监测和评估,确保整合营销学的有效性和效果。
案例分析是深入理解和应用整合营销学的重要途径之一。
下面以某知名公司为例,详细分析其整合营销学的实施情况和效果。
该公司在市场推广和品牌传播方面采用了多种不同的传播手段,如电视广告、网络营销和社交媒体等。
这些传播手段通过协调和配合,传达公司的品牌形象和产品信息。
公司通过整合营销学的实施,提高了品牌的知名度和消费者的购买欲望,取得了显著的销售增长和市场份额的提升。
综上所述,整合营销学是一种全方位的市场营销策略,通过协调和整合多个渠道和媒体,以实现较高的营销效果。
整合营销学的核心是将不同的营销活动和传播手段整合在一起,通过共同的目标和信息传递,提高品牌的知名度和销售额。
实施整合营销学的步骤包括确定目标、选择传播手段、制定整合计划、实施计划并进行监测和评估。
通过案例分析,可以深入理解和应用整合营销学,提高品牌的市场竞争力。
整合营销学是一种整合不同营销活动和传播手段的策略,以实现更高效的市场推广和品牌传播效果。
Respecting choices is a fundamental aspect of building a harmonious society.It is through the recognition and acceptance of individual preferences and decisions that we can foster an environment where everyone feels valued and heard.In a diverse world,it is inevitable that people have different opinions,beliefs,and lifestyles.By respecting these differences,we encourage openmindedness and understanding.This,in turn,leads to a more inclusive and tolerant society where everyone can coexist peacefully.One of the key ways to respect choices is through effective communication.Listening to others viewpoints and expressing our own thoughts with respect can bridge gaps and promote mutual understanding.It is important to approach conversations with an open mind and a willingness to learn from others.Moreover,respecting choices also means acknowledging the autonomy of individuals. People should be free to make decisions about their own lives without undue pressure or interference from others.This includes choices related to education,career,relationships, and personal beliefs.In the workplace,respecting choices can lead to a more motivated and engaged workforce.Employees who feel that their opinions are valued and their decisions respected are more likely to be committed to their jobs and contribute positively to the organization.In education,respecting students choices can help them develop a sense of selfefficacy and independence.When students are given the freedom to explore their interests and make decisions about their learning paths,they are more likely to be engaged and successful in their academic pursuits.In relationships,respecting each others choices is crucial for maintaining harmony and trust.By acknowledging and supporting each others decisions,partners can strengthen their bond and navigate through lifes challenges together.However,respecting choices does not mean that we always agree with them.It is possible to disagree with someones decision while still respecting their right to make it.This involves finding a balance between expressing our own opinions and accepting the choices of others.In conclusion,respecting choices is an essential component of building a harmonious society.By valuing individual autonomy,promoting open communication,and fosteringtolerance,we can create an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to the collective wellbeing.。
2013年6月份Walking, if you do it vigorously enough, is the overall best exercise for regular physical a ctivity. It requires no equipment, everyone knows how to do it and it carries the 47 risk of in jury. The human body is designed to walk. You can walk in parks or along a river or in your ne ighborhood. To get 48 benefit from walking, aim for 45 minutes a day, an average of five da ys a week.Strength training is another important 49 of physical activity. Its purpose is to build and 50 bone and muscle mass, both of which shrink with age. In general, you will want to do stre ngth training two or three days a week, 51 recovery days between sessions.Finally, flexibility and balance training are 52 important as the body ages. Aches and p ains are high on the list of complaints in old age. The result of constant muscle tension and stif fness of joints, many of them are 53 , and simple flexibility training can 54 these by makin g muscles stronger and keeping joints lubricated. Some of this you do whenever you stretch. If you watch dogs and cats, youwill get an idea of how natural it is. The general 55 is simple: whenever the body has been in one position for a while, it is good to 56 stretch it in an oppo site position.A) allowing B) avoidable C) briefly D) component E) determined F) helpingG) increasingly H) lowest I) maintain J) maximum K) prevent L) principle M) provoke N) seriously O) topic答案:47. 答案:H. lowest 【解析】:根据上下文可以判断需要选择一个形容词来修饰risk,根据句子意思,需要选择lowest“最低的”,句子的意思是:人人都知道怎么步行,并且步行受伤的风险最低。
Dear Recipients Name,I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits.I am writing to seek your valuable opinion on a matter that has been occupying my thoughts for some time.As you are well aware,briefly describe the context or situation that requires an opinion. This issue has farreaching implications not only for me personally but also for the broader community and the organization we are part of.Given the complexity and the potential impact of the decisions to be made,I believe it is crucial to gather insights from individuals with diverse perspectives and expertise.The primary concern I am grappling with is elaborate on the main issue or question that you need advice on.I have considered several approaches and potential solutions,but I am yet to arrive at a conclusion that I feel confident about.Here are some of the options I have been contemplating:1.Option1:Briefly describe the first option and its pros and cons.2.Option2:Briefly describe the second option and its pros and cons.3.Option3:If applicable,briefly describe a third option and its pros and cons.I am particularly interested in your thoughts on the following aspects:The longterm viability and sustainability of each option.The potential risks and challenges associated with each approach.Any additional factors or considerations that I may have overlooked.Your experience and wisdom have always been a source of inspiration and guidance for me.I trust your judgment and would greatly appreciate any insights or recommendations you can offer.Your perspective will undoubtedly help me make a more informed decision.Please feel free to share your thoughts in detail,as I am eager to understand your reasoning and the rationale behind your suggestions.If you require any additional information or clarification,do not hesitate to reach out.I am more than willing to provide any necessary details to facilitate a comprehensive discussion.Thank you in advance for taking the time to consider my request.I am looking forward to your response and the opportunity to benefit from your expertise.Warm regards,Your Name。
As a high school student, Ive always been fascinated by the myriad of choices available in the modern world. From the latest gadgets to the most fashionable clothing, theres no shortage of options to choose from. However, this abundance of choice, while seemingly a blessing, has often led me to experience what is colloquially known as choice paralysis or analysis paralysis. Its a phenomenon where the sheer volume of options available makes it difficult to make a decision, and Ive found myself in the throes of this dilemma on numerous occasions.One such memorable experience occurred during a shopping trip with my friends. We were at a bustling shopping mall, and I was on the hunt for a new pair of sneakers. The store was a treasure trove of athletic footwear, with rows upon rows of different brands, colors, and styles. I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety as I scanned the shelves. The vibrant colors and sleek designs were alluring, but the decisionmaking process was daunting.As I stood there, I began to analyze each pair of sneakers. I considered factors such as comfort, durability, style, and price. I weighed the pros and cons of each option, trying to find the perfect balance. My friends, meanwhile, seemed to make their choices effortlessly. They would pick a pair, try them on, and decide within minutes. I couldnt help but feel envious of their decisiveness.The longer I spent in the store, the more overwhelmed I became. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each pair of sneakers vying for my attention. I felt a growing sense of frustration as I realized that I was unable to make a decision. The fear of making the wrong choice or missing out on a betteroption was paralyzing.This experience is not unique to me. In fact, its a common issue faced by many consumers today. The concept of analysis paralysis has been studied by psychologists and marketers alike. Its been found that when presented with too many choices, people tend to experience decision fatigue, which can lead to dissatisfaction and regret, even if they eventually make a decision.To overcome this challenge, Ive learned to employ a few strategies. First, I try to narrow down my options by setting clear criteria for what Im looking for. This helps to eliminate choices that dont meet my specific needs or preferences. Second, Ive learned to trust my instincts. Sometimes, the first pair of sneakers that catches my eye is the one that feels right. Lastly, I remind myself that its okay to make a mistake. No decision is perfect, and its important to accept that there will always be tradeoffs.Moreover, Ive come to appreciate the value of simplicity in decisionmaking. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with choices, its refreshing to embrace the idea of minimalism. Whether its choosing between two favorite flavors of ice cream or deciding on a single outfit for the day, simplifying our options can lead to greater satisfaction and less stress.In conclusion, the experience of choice paralysis is a testament to the complexity of modern consumer culture. While its exciting to have a plethora of options at our fingertips, its also important to recognize the potential pitfalls of too much choice. By setting clear criteria, trusting ourinstincts, and embracing simplicity, we can navigate the decisionmaking process with greater ease and confidence. After all, the goal is not to have the most options, but to make the best choice for ourselves.。
2010年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案(5篇材料)第一篇:2010年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案2010年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案以下是新东方在线为同学们整理的2010年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案,供各位考生参考。
Part IV Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth)(25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements.Read the passage carefully.Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.Question: My ninth-grade art teacher doesn't give any grade above 94% because, she says, “There's always room for improvement.” In previous years, I earned a 99% and a 100%.The 94 I received this term does not reflect the hard work that I put into this course.Because of her “improvement” theory, I got a lower grade than I deserve.Is her grading philosophy ethical(符合职业道德规范的)?Answer: Your teacher's grading system may be unwise, but it is not unethical.A teacher deserves wide latitude in selecting the method of grading that best promotes learning in her classroom;that is, after all, the prime function of grades.It is she who has the training and experience to make this decision.Assuming that your teacher is neither biased nor corrupt and that her system conforms to school rules, you can't fault her ethics.You can criticize her methodology.A 100 need not imply that there is no possibility of improvement, only that a studentsuccessfully completed the course work.A ninth grader could get a well-earned 100 in English class but still have a way to go before she writes as well as Jane Austen.What's more, grades are not only an educational device but are also part of a screening system to help assign kids to their next class or program.By capping her grades at 94 while most other teachers grade on a scale that tops out at 100, your teacher could jeopardize a student's chance of getting a scholarship or getting into a top college.What it is wrong to condemn her for is overlooking your hard work.You diligence is worthy of encouragement, but effort does not equal accomplishment.If scholars suddenly discovered that Rembrandt had dashed off “The Night Watch” in an afternoon, it would still be “The Night Watch.”I could spend mon ths sweating over my own “paintings”, but I'd produce something you wouldn't want to hang in your living room.Or your garage.One feature of a good grading system is that those measured by it generally regard it as fair and reasonable—not the case here.Simmering(难以平息的)resentment is seldom an aid to education.And so your next step should be to discuss your concerns with your teacher or the principal.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
1、失去一份工作可能是最痛楚的经济事件在一个人的生活。
大多数人们依托自己的劳动收入来维持他们的生活标准,许多人会从他们的工作取得的不仅是收入,还有自己的成绩感。
一个失去工作意味着此刻要定一个更低的生活标准,焦虑以后,并丧失自尊心。
这并非奇怪,因此,政治家竞选办公室常常谈论他们所提出的政策将帮忙制造就业机遇。
2、尽管必然程度的失业是不可幸免的,在一个复杂的经济与成千上万的企业和以百万计的工人,失业量的转变大致随着时刻的推移和席卷整个国家。
当一国维持其尽可能充分就业的工人,它实现了更高水平的国内生产总值会比留下了很多工人闲置更好。
3、失业问题一样分为两类,长期的问题和短时间的问题。
经济的自然失业率一般是指充分就业状态下的失业率。
周期性失业是指今年年失业率围绕其自然率的波动,它是紧密相关的经济活动的短时间起伏。
4、判定失业问题有何等严峻时,其中一个问题确实是要考虑是不是失业一般是一个短时间或长期的条件。
若是失业是短时间的,人们可能会得出结论,它不是一个大问题。
工人可能需要几个礼拜的工作之间找到最适合他们的口味和技术的开口。
但是,若是失业是长期的,人们可能会得出结论,这是一个严峻的问题。
许多个月的失业工人更易蒙受经济和心理上的困难。
5、经济引发一些失业的缘故之一是寻觅工作。
求职是工人与适合的职位相匹配的进程。
若是所有工人和所有工作一样,使所有工人,一样适用于所有作业,求职就可不能是一个问题。
下岗职工会专门快找到新的工作,超级适合他们。
可是,事实上,工人有不同的方式和技术,职位有不同的属性,在经济生活中众多的企业和家庭关于应聘者和职位空缺的信息缓慢传播。
6、摩擦性失业往往是在不同企业之间的劳动力需求转变的结果。
当消费者决定,他们更喜爱富士通而不是宏碁,富士通增加就业职位,宏碁就辞退工人。
前宏碁的工人必需寻觅新的就业机遇,而富士通必需决定招聘新工人开辟了各类作业。
这种转变的结果是一段时刻的失业。
7、一样,由于不同地域的国家生产不同的商品,在一个地区就业增加,在另一个减少。
经济学词汇--中英文对照A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------accounting:会计accounting cost:会计成本accounting profit:会计利润adverse selection:逆向选择allocation配置allocation of resources:资源配置allocative efficiency:配置效率antitrust legislation:反托拉斯法arc elasticity:弧弹性Arrow's impossibility theorem:阿罗不可能定理Assumption:假设asymetric information:非对称性信息average:平均average cost:平均成本average cost pricing:平均成本定价法average fixed cost:平均固定成本average product of capital:资本平均产量average product of labour:劳动平均产量average revenue:平均收益average total cost:平均总成本average variable cost:平均可变成本B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------barriers to entry:进入壁垒base year:基年bilateral monopoly:双边垄断benefit:收益black market:黑市bliss point:极乐点boundary point:边界点break even point:收支相抵点budget:预算budget constraint:预算约束budget line:预算线budget set预算集C--------------------------------------------------------------------------------capital:资本capital stock:资本存量capital output ratio:资本产出比率capitalism:资本主义cardinal utility theory:基数效用论cartel:卡特尔ceteris puribus assumption:“其他条件不变”的假设ceteris puribus demand curve:其他因素不变的需求曲线Chamberlin model:张伯伦模型change in demand:需求变化change in quantity demanded:需求量变化change in quantity supplied:供给量变化change in supply:供给变化choice:选择closed set:闭集Coase theorem:科斯定理Cobb—Douglas production function:柯布--道格拉斯生产函数cobweb model:蛛网模型collective bargaining:集体协议工资collusion:合谋command economy:指令经济commodity:商品commodity combination:商品组合commodity market:商品市场commodity space:商品空间common property:公用财产comparative static analysis:比较静态分析compensated budget line:补偿预算线compensated demand function:补偿需求函数compensation principles:补偿原则compensating variation in income:收入补偿变量competition:竞争competitive market:竞争性市场complement goods:互补品complete information:完全信息completeness:完备性condition for efficiency in exchange:交换的最优条件condition for efficiency in production:生产的最优条件concave:凹concave function:凹函数concave preference:凹偏好consistence:一致性constant cost industry:成本不变产业constant returns to scale:规模报酬不变constraints:约束consumer:消费者consumer behavior:消费者行为consumer choice:消费者选择consumer equilibrium:消费者均衡consumer optimization:消费者优化consumer preference:消费者偏好consumer surplus:消费者剩余consumer theory:消费者理论consumption:消费consumption bundle:消费束consumption combination:消费组合consumption possibility curve:消费可能曲线consumption possibility frontier:消费可能性前沿consumption set:消费集consumption space:消费空间continuity:连续性continuous function:连续函数contract curve:契约曲线convex:凸convex function:凸函数convex preference:凸偏好convex set:凸集corporatlon:公司cost:成本cost benefit analysis:成本收益分cost function:成本函数cost minimization:成本极小化Cournot equilihrium:古诺均衡Cournot model:古诺模型Cross—price elasticity:交叉价格弹性D--------------------------------------------------------------------------------dead—weights loss:重负损失decreasing cost industry:成本递减产业decreasing returns to scale:规模报酬递减deduction:演绎法demand:需求demand curve:需求曲线demand elasticity:需求弹性demand function:需求函数demand price:需求价格demand schedule:需求表depreciation:折旧derivative:导数derive demand:派生需求difference equation:差分方程differential equation:微分方程differentiated good:差异商品differentiated oligoply:差异寡头diminishing marginal substitution:边际替代率递减diminishing marginal return:收益递减diminishing marginal utility:边际效用递减direct approach:直接法direct taxes:直接税discounting:贴税、折扣diseconomies of scale:规模不经济disequilibrium:非均衡distribution:分配division of labour:劳动分工distribution theory of marginal productivity:边际生产率分配论duoupoly:双头垄断、双寡duality:对偶durable goods:耐用品dynamic analysis:动态分析dynamic models:动态模型E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Economic agents:经济行为者economic cost:经济成本economic efficiency:经济效率economic goods:经济物品economic man:经济人economic mode:经济模型economic profit:经济利润economic region of production:生产的经济区域economic regulation:经济调节economic rent:经济租金exchange:交换economics:经济学exchange efficiency:交换效率economy:经济exchange contract curve:交换契约曲线economy of scale:规模经济Edgeworth box diagram:埃奇沃思图exclusion:排斥性、排他性Edgeworth contract curve:埃奇沃思契约线Edgeworth model:埃奇沃思模型efficiency:效率,效益efficiency parameter:效率参数elasticity:弹性elasticity of substitution:替代弹性endogenous variable:内生变量endowment:禀赋endowment of resources:资源禀赋Engel curve:恩格尔曲线entrepreneur:企业家entrepreneurship:企业家才能entry barriers:进入壁垒entry/exit decision:进出决策envolope curve:包络线equilibrium:均衡equilibrium condition:均衡条件equilibrium price:均衡价格equilibrium quantity:均衡产量eqity:公平equivalent variation in income:收入等价变量excess—capacity theorem:过度生产能力定理excess supply:过度供给exchange:交换exchange contract curve:交换契约曲线exclusion:排斥性、排他性exclusion principle:排他性原则existence:存在性existence of general equilibrium:总体均衡的存在性exogenous variables:外生变量expansion paths:扩展径expectation:期望expected utility:期望效用expected value:期望值expenditure:支出explicit cost:显性成本external benefit:外部收益external cost:外部成本external economy:外部经济external diseconomy:外部不经济externalities:外部性F--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Factor:要素factor demand:要素需求factor market:要素市场factors of production:生产要素factor substitution:要素替代factor supply:要素供给fallacy of composition:合成谬误final goods:最终产品firm:企业firms’demand curve for labor:企业劳动需求曲线firm supply curve:企业供给曲线first-degree price discrimination:第一级价格歧视first—order condition:一阶条件fixed costs:固定成本fixed input:固定投入fixed proportions production function:固定比例的生产函数flow:流量fluctuation:波动for whom to produce:为谁生产free entry:自由进入free goods:自由品,免费品free mobility of resources:资源自由流动free rider:搭便车,免费搭车function:函数future value:未来值G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------game theory:对策论、博弈论general equilibrium:总体均衡general goods:一般商品Giffen goods:吉芬晶收入补偿需求曲线Giffen's Paradox:吉芬之谜Gini coefficient:吉尼系数goldenrule:黄金规则goods:货物government failure:政府失败government regulation:政府调控grand utility possibility curve:总效用可能曲线grand utility possibility frontier:总效用可能前沿H--------------------------------------------------------------------------------heterogeneous product:异质产品Hicks—kaldor welfare criterion:希克斯一卡尔多福利标准homogeneity:齐次性homogeneous demand function:齐次需求函数homogeneous product:同质产品homogeneous production function:齐次生产函数horizontal summation:水平和household:家庭how to produce:如何生产human capital:人力资本hypothesis:假说I--------------------------------------------------------------------------------identity:恒等式imperfect competion:不完全竞争implicitcost:隐性成本income:收入income compensated demand curve:收入补偿需求曲线income constraint:收入约束income consumption curve:收入消费曲线income distribution:收入分配income effect:收入效应income elasticity of demand:需求收入弹性increasing cost industry:成本递增产业increasing returns to scale:规模报酬递增inefficiency:缺乏效率index number:指数indifference:无差异indifference curve:无差异曲线indifference map:无差异族indifference relation:无差异关系indifference set:无差异集indirect approach:间接法individual analysis:个量分析individual demand curve:个人需求曲线individual demand function:个人需求函数induced variable:引致变量induction:归纳法industry:产业industry equilibrium:产业均衡industry supply curve:产业供给曲线inelastic:缺乏弹性的inferior goods:劣品inflection point:拐点information:信息information cost:信息成本initial condition:初始条件initial endowment:初始禀赋innovation:创新input:投入input—output:投入—产出institution:制度institutional economics:制度经济学insurance:保险intercept:截距interest:利息interest rate:利息率intermediate goods:中间产品internatization of externalities:外部性内部化invention:发明inverse demand function:逆需求函数investment:投资invisible hand:看不见的手isocost line:等成本线,isoprofit curve:等利润曲线isoquant curve:等产量曲线isoquant map:等产量族K--------------------------------------------------------------------------------kinded—demand curve:弯折的需求曲线L--------------------------------------------------------------------------------labour:劳动labour demand:劳动需求labour supply:劳动供给labour theory of value:劳动价值论labour unions:工会laissez faire:自由放任Lagrangian function:拉格朗日函数Lagrangian multiplier:拉格朗乘数,land:土地law:法则law of demand and supply:供需法law of diminishing marginal utility:边际效用递减法则law of diminishing marginal rate of substitution:边际替代率递减法则law of diminishing marginal rate of technicalsubstitution:边际技术替代率law of increasing cost:成本递增法则law of one price:单一价格法则leader—follower model:领导者--跟随者模型least—cost combination of inputs:最低成本的投入组合leisure:闲暇Leontief production function:列昂节夫生产函数licenses:许可证linear demand function:线性需求函数linear homogeneity:线性齐次性linear homogeneous production function:线性齐次生产函数long run:长期long run average cost:长期平均成本long run equilibrium:长期均衡long run industry supply curve:长期产业供给曲线long run marginal cost:长期边际成本long run total cost:长期总成本Lorenz curve:洛伦兹曲线loss minimization:损失极小化1ump sum tax:一次性征税luxury:奢侈品M--------------------------------------------------------------------------------macroeconomics:宏观经济学marginal:边际的marginal benefit:边际收益marginal cost:边际成本marginal cost pricing:边际成本定价marginal cost of factor:边际要素成本marginal physical productivity:实际实物生产率marginal product:边际产量marginal product of capital:资本的边际产量marginal product of1abour:劳动的边际产量marginal productivity:边际生产率marginal rate of substitution:边替代率marginal rate of transformation边际转换率marginal returns:边际回报marginal revenue:边际收益marginal revenue product:边际收益产品marginal revolution:边际革命marginal social benefit:社会边际收益marginal social cost:社会边际成本marginal utility:边际效用marginal value products:边际价值产品market:市场market clearance:市场结清,市场洗清market demand:市场需求market economy:市场经济market equilibrium:市场均衡market failure:市场失败market mechanism:市场机制market structure:市场结构market separation:市场分割market regulation:市场调节market share:市场份额markup pricing:加减定价法Marshallian demand function:马歇尔需求函数maximization:极大化microeconomics:微观经济学minimum wage:最低工资misallocation of resources:资源误置mixed economy:混合经济model:模型money:货币monopolistic competition:垄断竞争monopolistic exploitation:垄断剥削monopoly:垄断,卖方垄断monopoly equilibrium:垄断均衡monopoly pricing:垄断定价monopoly regulation:垄断调控monopoly rents:垄断租金monopsony:买方垄断N--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nash equilibrium:纳什均衡Natural monopoly:自然垄断Natural resources:自然资源Necessary condition:必要条件necessities:必需品net demand:净需求nonconvex preference:非凸性偏好nonconvexity:非凸性nonexclusion:非排斥性nonlinear pricing:非线性定价nonrivalry:非对抗性nonprice competition:非价格竞争nonsatiation:非饱和性non--zero—sum game:非零和对策normal goods:正常品normal profit:正常利润normative economics:规范经济学O--------------------------------------------------------------------------------objective function:目标函数oligopoly:寡头垄断oligopoly market:寡头市场oligopoly model:寡头模型opportunity cost:机会成本optimal choice:最佳选择optimal consumption bundle:消费束perfect elasticity:完全有弹性optimal resource allocation:最佳资源配置optimal scale:最佳规模optimal solution:最优解optimization:优化ordering of optimization(social)preference:(社会)偏好排序ordinal utility:序数效用ordinary goods:一般品output:产量、产出output elasticity:产出弹性output maximization产出极大化P--------------------------------------------------------------------------------parameter:参数Pareto criterion:帕累托标准Pareto efficiency:帕累托效率Pareto improvement:帕累托改进Pareto optimality:帕累托优化Pareto set:帕累托集partial derivative:偏导数partial equilibrium:局部均衡patent:专利pay off matrix:收益矩阵、支付矩阵perceived demand curve:感觉到的需求曲线perfect competition:完全竞争perfect complement:完全互补品perfect monopoly:完全垄断perfect price discrimination:完全价格歧视perfect substitution:完全替代品perfect inelasticity:完全无弹性perfectly elastic:完全有弹性perfectly inelastic:完全无弹性plant size:工厂规模point elasticity:点弹性post Hoc Fallacy:后此谬误prediction:预测preference:偏好preference relation:偏好关系present value:现值price:价格price adjustment model:价格调整模型price ceiling:最高限价price consumption curve:价格费曲线price control:价格管制price difference:价格差别price discrimination:价格歧视price elasticity of demand:需求价格弹性price elasticity of supply:供给价格弹性price floor:最低限价price maker:价格制定者price rigidity:价格刚性price seeker:价格搜求者price taker:价格接受者price tax:从价税private benefit:私人收益principal—agent issues:委托--代理问题private cost:私人成本private goods:私人用品private property:私人财产producer equilibrium:生产者均衡producer theory:生产者理论product:产品product transformation curve:产品转换曲线product differentiation:产品差异product group:产品集团production:生产production contract curve:生产契约曲线production efficiency:生产效率production function:生产函数production possibility curve:生产可能性曲线productivity:生产率productivity of capital:资本生产率productivity of labor:劳动生产率profit:利润profit function:利润函数profit maximization:利润极大化property rights:产权property rights economics:产权经济学proposition:定理proportional demand curve:成比例的需求曲线public benefits:公共收益public choice:公共选择public goods:公共商品pure competition:纯粹竞争rivalry:对抗性、竞争pure exchange:纯交换pure monopoly:纯粹垄断Q--------------------------------------------------------------------------------quantity—adjustment model:数量调整模型quantity tax:从量税quasi—rent:准租金R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------rate of product transformation:产品转换率rationality:理性reaction function:反应函数regulation:调节,调控relative price相对价格rent:租金rent control:规模报酬rent seeking:寻租rent seeking economics:寻租经济学resource:资源resource allocation:资源配置returns:报酬、回报returns to scale:规模报酬revealed preference:显示性偏好revenue:收益revenue curve:收益曲线revenue function:收益函数revenue maximization:收益极大化ridge line:脊线risk:风险S--------------------------------------------------------------------------------satiation:饱和,满足saving:储蓄scarcity:稀缺性law of scarcity:稀缺法则second—degree price discrimination:二级价格歧视second derivative:--阶导数second—order condition:二阶条件service:劳务set:集shadow prices:影子价格short—run:短期short—run cost curve:短期成本曲线short—run equilibrium:短期均衡short—run supply curve:短期供给曲线shut down decision:关闭决策shortage短缺shut down point:关闭点single price monopoly:单一定价垄断slope:斜率social benefit:社会收益social cost:社会成本social indifference curve:社会无差异曲线social preference:社会偏好social security:社会保障social welfare function:社会福利函数socialism:社会主义solution:解space:空间stability:稳定性stable equilibrium:稳定的均衡Stackelberg model:斯塔克尔贝格模型static analysis:静态分析stock:存量stock market:股票市场strategy:策略subsidy:津贴substitutes:替代品substitution effect:替代效应substitution parameter:替代参数sufficient condition:充分条件supply:供给supply curve:供给曲线supply function:供给函数supply schedule:供给表Sweezy model:斯威齐模型symmetry:对称性symmetry of information:信息对称T--------------------------------------------------------------------------------tangency:相切taste:兴致technical efficiency:技术效率technological constraints;技术约束technological progress:技术进步technology:技术third—degree price discrimination:第**价格歧视total cost:总成本total effect:总效应total expenditure:总支出total fixed cost:总固定成本total product:总产量total revenue:总收益total utility:总效用total variable cost:总可变成本traditional economy:传统经济transitivity:传递性transaction cost:交易费用U--------------------------------------------------------------------------------uncertainty:不确定性uniqueness:唯一性unit elasticity:单位弹性unstable equilibrium:不稳定均衡utility:效用utility function:效用函数utility index:效用指数utility maximization:效用极大化utility possibility curve:效用可能性曲线utility possibility frontier:效用可能性前沿V--------------------------------------------------------------------------------value:价值value judge:价值判断value of marginal product:边际产量价值variable cost:可变成本variable input:可变投入variables:变量vector:向量visible hand:看得见的手vulgur economics:庸俗经济学W--------------------------------------------------------------------------------wage:工资wage rate:工资率Walras general equilibrium:瓦尔拉斯总体均衡Walras's law:瓦尔拉斯法则Wants:需要Welfare criterion:福利标准Welfare economics:福利经学Welfare loss triangle:福利损失三角形welfare maximization:福利极大化Z--------------------------------------------------------------------------------zero cost:零成本zero elasticity:零弹性zero homogeneity:零阶齐次性zero economic profit:零利润。
2024年高二英语学术活动的收获单选题20题1.The speaker at the academic event was very articulate and managed to convey his ideas _____.A.effectivelyB.efficientlyC.sufficientlyD.proficiently答案:A。
“effectively”表示有效地,在这个语境中,演讲者有效地传达了他的想法。
“efficiently”侧重于效率高;“sufficiently”是足够地;“proficiently”是熟练地。
这里强调的是传达想法的效果,所以选A。
2.During the academic discussion, everyone contributed their valuable insights _____.A.activelyB.passivelyC.energeticallyzily答案:A。
“actively”表示积极地,在学术讨论中,大家应该积极地贡献有价值的见解。
“passively”是被动地;“energetically”更多强调充满活力地,不如“actively”贴切;“lazily”是懒惰地,不符合语境。
所以选A。
3.The research report was presented in a _____ manner.A.clearB.vagueC.confusedD.obscure答案:A。
“clear”表示清晰的,研究报告应该以清晰的方式呈现。
“vague”是模糊的;“confused”是困惑的;“obscure”是晦涩的。
所以选A。
4.The students were engaged in _____ debates during the academic activity.A.heatedB.coldC.lukewarmD.icy答案:A。
Multiple Choice Questions1. The term structure of interest rates is:A) The relationship between the rates of interest on all securities.B) The relationship between the interest rate on a security and its time to maturity.C) The relationship between the yield on a bond and its default rate.D) All of the above.E) None of the above.Answer: B Difficulty: EasyRationale: The term structure of interest rates is the relationship between two variables, years and yield to maturity (holding all else constant).2. The yield curve shows at any point in time:A) The relationship between the yield on a bond and the duration of the bond.B) The relationship between the coupon rate on a bond and time to maturity of thebond.C) The relationship between yield on a bond and the time to maturity on the bond.D) All of the above.E) None of the above.Answer: C Difficulty: Easy3. An inverted yield curve implies that:A) Long-term interest rates are lower than short-term interest rates.B) Long-term interest rates are higher than short-term interest rates.C) Long-term interest rates are the same as short-term interest rates.D) Intermediate term interest rates are higher than either short- or long-term interestrates.E) none of the above.Answer: A Difficulty: EasyRationale: The inverted, or downward sloping, yield curve is one in which short-term rates are higher than long-term rates. The inverted yield curve has been observedfrequently, although not as frequently as the upward sloping, or normal, yield curve.4. An upward sloping yield curve is a(n) _______ yield curve.A) normal.B) humped.C) inverted.D) flat.E) none of the above.Answer: A Difficulty: EasyRationale: The upward sloping yield curve is referred to as the normal yield curve, probably because, historically, the upward sloping yield curve is the shape that has been observed most frequently.5. According to the expectations hypothesis, a normal yield curve implies thatA) interest rates are expected to remain stable in the future.B) interest rates are expected to decline in the future.C) interest rates are expected to increase in the future.D) interest rates are expected to decline first, then increase.E) interest rates are expected to increase first, then decrease.Answer: C Difficulty: EasyRationale: An upward sloping yield curve is based on the expectation that short-term interest rates will increase.6. Which of the following is not proposed as an explanation for the term structure ofinterest rates?A) The expectations theory.B) The liquidity preference theory.C) The market segmentation theory.D) Modern portfolio theory.E) A, B, and C.Answer: D Difficulty: EasyRationale: A, B, and C are all theories that have been proposed to explain the term structure.7. The expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates states thatA) forward rates are determined by investors' expectations of future interest rates.B) forward rates exceed the expected future interest rates.C) yields on long- and short-maturity bonds are determined by the supply and demandfor the securities.D) all of the above.E) none of the above.Answer: A Difficulty: EasyRationale: The forward rate equals the market consensus expectation of future short interest rates.8. Which of the following theories state that the shape of the yield curve is essentiallydetermined by the supply and demands for long-and short-maturity bonds?A) Liquidity preference theory.B) Expectations theory.C) Market segmentation theory.D) All of the above.E) None of the above.Answer: C Difficulty: EasyRationale: Market segmentation theory states that the markets for different maturities are separate markets, and that interest rates at the different maturities are determined by the intersection of the respective supply and demand curves.9. According to the "liquidity preference" theory of the term structure of interest rates, theyield curve usually should be:A) inverted.B) normal.C) upward slopingD) A and B.E) B and C.Answer: E Difficulty: EasyRationale: According to the liquidity preference theory, investors would prefer to be liquid rather than illiquid. In order to accept a more illiquid investment, investors require a liquidity premium and the normal, or upward sloping, yield curve results.Use the following to answer questions 10-13:Suppose that all investors expect that interest rates for the 4 years will be as follows:10. What is the price of 3-year zero coupon bond with a par value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) none of the aboveAnswer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: $1,000 / = $11. If you have just purchased a 4-year zero coupon bond, what would be the expected rateof return on your investment in the first year if the implied forward rates stay the same?(Par value of the bond = $1,000)A) 5%B) 7%C) 9%D) 10%E) none of the aboveAnswer: A Difficulty: ModerateRationale: The forward interest rate given for the first year of the investment is given as 5% (see table above).12. What is the price of a 2-year maturity bond with a 10% coupon rate paid annually? (Parvalue = $1,000)A) $1,092B) $1,054C) $1,000D) $1,073E) none of the aboveAnswer: D Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/2 - 1 = 6%; FV = 1000, n = 2, PMT = 100, i = 6, PV = $1,13. What is the yield to maturity of a 3-year zero coupon bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the aboveAnswer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/3 - 1 = .Use the following to answer questions 14-16:The following is a list of prices for zero coupon bonds with different maturities and par value of $1,000.14. What is, according to the expectations theory, the expected forward rate in the thirdyear?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the aboveAnswer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: / - 1 = 9%15. What is the yield to maturity on a 3-year zero coupon bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the aboveAnswer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: (1000 / 1/3 -1 = %16. What is the price of a 4-year maturity bond with a 12% coupon rate paid annually? (Parvalue = $1,000)A) $B) $1,C) $1,D) $1,E) none of the aboveAnswer: D Difficulty: DifficultRationale: (1000 / 1/4 -1 = %; FV = 1000, PMT = 120, n = 4, i = , PV = $1,17. The market segmentation theory of the term structure of interest ratesA) theoretically can explain all shapes of yield curves.B) definitely holds in the "real world".C) assumes that markets for different maturities are separate markets.D) A and B.E) A and C.Answer: E Difficulty: EasyRationale: Although this theory is quite tidy theoretically, both investors and borrows will depart from their "preferred maturity habitats" if yields on alternative maturities are attractive enough.18. An upward sloping yield curveA) may be an indication that interest rates are expected to increase.B) may incorporate a liquidity premium.C) may reflect the confounding of the liquidity premium with interest rateexpectations.D) all of the above.E) none of the above.Answer: D Difficulty: EasyRationale: One of the problems of the most commonly used explanation of termstructure, the expectations hypothesis, is that it is difficult to separate out the liquidity premium from interest rate expectations.19. The "break-even" interest rate for year n that equates the return on an n-periodzero-coupon bond to that of an n-1-period zero-coupon bond rolled over into a one-year bond in year n is defined asA) the forward rate.B) the short rate.C) the yield to maturity.D) the discount rate.E) None of the above.Answer: A Difficulty: EasyRationale: The forward rate for year n, fn, is the "break-even" interest rate for year n that equates the return on an n-period zero- coupon bond to that of an n-1-periodzero-coupon bond rolled over into a one-year bond in year n.20. When computing yield to maturity, the implicit reinvestment assumption is that theinterest payments are reinvested at the:A) Coupon rate.B) Current yield.C) Yield to maturity at the time of the investment.D) Prevailing yield to maturity at the time interest payments are received.E) The average yield to maturity throughout the investment period.Answer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: In order to earn the yield to maturity quoted at the time of the investment, coupons must be reinvested at that rate.21. Which one of the following statements is true?A) The expectations hypothesis indicates a flat yield curve if anticipated futureshort-term rates exceed the current short-term rate.B) The basic conclusion of the expectations hypothesis is that the long-term rate isequal to the anticipated long-term rate.C) The liquidity preference hypothesis indicates that, all other things being equal,longer maturities will have lower yields.D) The segmentation hypothesis contends that borrows and lenders are constrained toparticular segments of the yield curve.E) None of the above.Answer: D Difficulty: ModerateRationale: A flat yield curve indicates expectations of existing rates. Expectations hypothesis states that the forward rate equals the market consensus of expectations of future short interest rates. The reverse of C is true.22. The concepts of spot and forward rates are most closely associated with which one ofthe following explanations of the term structure of interest rates.A) Segmented Market theoryB) Expectations HypothesisC) Preferred Habitat HypothesisD) Liquidity Premium theoryE) None of the aboveAnswer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: Only the expectations hypothesis is based on spot and forward rates. A andC assume separate markets for different maturities; liquidity premium assumes higheryields for longer maturities.Use the following to answer question 23:23. Given the bond described above, if interest were paid semi-annually (rather thanannually), and the bond continued to be priced at $850, the resulting effective annual yield to maturity would be:A) Less than 12%B) More than 12%C) 12%D) Cannot be determinedE) None of the aboveAnswer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: FV = 1000, PV = -850, PMT = 50, n = 40, i = (semi-annual); 2 - 1 = %.24. Interest rates might declineA) because real interest rates are expected to decline.B) because the inflation rate is expected to decline.C) because nominal interest rates are expected to increase.D) A and B.E) B and C.Answer: D Difficulty: EasyRationale: The nominal rate is comprised of the real interest rate plus the expectedinflation rate.25. Forward rates ____________ future short rates because ____________.A) are equal to; they are both extracted from yields to maturity.B) are equal to; they are perfect forecasts.C) differ from; they are imperfect forecasts.D) differ from; forward rates are estimated from dealer quotes while future short ratesare extracted from yields to maturity.E) are equal to; although they are estimated from different sources they both are usedby traders to make purchase decisions.Answer: C Difficulty: EasyRationale: Forward rates are the estimates of future short rates extracted from yields to maturity but they are not perfect forecasts because the future cannot be predicted with certainty; therefore they will usually differ.26. The pure yield curve can be estimatedA) by using zero-coupon bonds.B) by using coupon bonds if each coupon is treated as a separate "zero."C) by using corporate bonds with different risk ratings.D) by estimating liquidity premiums for different maturities.E) A and B.Answer: E Difficulty: ModerateRationale: The pure yield curve is calculated using zero coupon bonds, but coupon bonds may be used if each coupon is treated as a separate "zero."27. The on the run yield curve isA) a plot of yield as a function of maturity for zero-coupon bonds.B) a plot of yield as a function of maturity for recently issued coupon bonds trading ator near par.C) a plot of yield as a function of maturity for corporate bonds with different riskratings.D) a plot of liquidity premiums for different maturities.E) A and B.Answer: B Difficulty: Moderate28. The market segmentation and preferred habitat theories of term structureA) are identical.B) vary in that market segmentation is rarely accepted today.C) vary in that market segmentation maintains that borrowers and lenders will notdepart from their preferred maturities and preferred habitat maintains that marketparticipants will depart from preferred maturities if yields on other maturities areattractive enough.D) A and B.E) B and C.Answer: E Difficulty: ModerateRationale: Borrowers and lenders will depart from their preferred maturity habitats if yields are attractive enough; thus, the market segmentation hypothesis is no longerreadily accepted.29. The yield curveA) is a graphical depiction of term structure of interest rates.B) is usually depicted for U. S. Treasuries in order to hold risk constant acrossmaturities and yields.C) is usually depicted for corporate bonds of different ratings.D) A and B.E) A and C.Answer: D Difficulty: EasyRationale: The yield curve (yields vs. maturities, all else equal) is depicted for U. S.Treasuries more frequently than for corporate bonds, as the risk is constant acrossmaturities for Treasuries.Use the following to answer questions 30-32:30. What should the purchase price of a 2-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased at thebeginning of year 2 and has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: A Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / [] = $31. What would the yield to maturity be on a four-year zero coupon bond purchased today?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the above.Answer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: [ ]1/4 - 1 = %32. Calculate the price at the beginning of year 1 of a 10% annual coupon bond with facevalue $1,000 and 5 years to maturity.A) $1,105B) $1,132C) $1,179D) $1,150E) $1,119Answer: B Difficulty: DifficultRationale: i = [ ]1/5 - 1 = %; FV = 1000, PMT = 100, n = 5, i = , PV = $1,33. Given the yield on a 3 year zero-coupon bond is % and forward rates of % in year 1and % in year 2, what must be the forward rate in year 3?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the above.Answer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: f3 = 3 / [ ] - 1 = %34. An inverted yield curve is oneA) with a hump in the middle.B) constructed by using convertible bonds.C) that is relatively flat.D) that plots the inverse relationship between bond prices and bond yields.E) that slopes downward.Answer: E Difficulty: EasyRationale: An inverted yield curve occurs when short-term rates are higher thanlong-term rates.35. Investors can use publicly available financial date to determine which of the following?I)the shape of the yield curveII)future short-term ratesIII)the direction the Dow indexes are headingIV)the actions to be taken by the Federal ReserveA) I and IIB) I and IIIC) I, II, and IIID) I, III, and IVE) I, II, III, and IVAnswer: A Difficulty: ModerateRationale: Only the shape of the yield curve and future inferred rates can be determined.The movement of the Dow Indexes and Federal Reserve policy are influenced by term structure but are determined by many other variables also.36. Which of the following combinations will result in a sharply increasing yield curve?A) increasing expected short rates and increasing liquidity premiumsB) decreasing expected short rates and increasing liquidity premiumsC) increasing expected short rates and decreasing liquidity premiumsD) increasing expected short rates and constant liquidity premiumsE) constant expected short rates and increasing liquidity premiumsAnswer: A Difficulty: ModerateRationale: Both of the forces will act to increase the slope of the yield curve.37. The yield curve is a component ofA) the Dow Jones Industrial Average.B) the consumer price index.C) the index of leading economic indicators.D) the producer price index.E) the inflation index.Answer: C Difficulty: EasyRationale: Since the yield curve is often used to forecast the business cycle, it is used as one of the leading economic indicators.38. The most recently issued Treasury securities are calledA) on the run.B) off the run.C) on the market.D) off the market.E) none of the above.Answer: A Difficulty: EasyUse the following to answer questions 39-42:Suppose that all investors expect that interest rates for the 4 years will be as follows:39. What is the price of 3-year zero coupon bond with a par value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) none of the aboveAnswer: A Difficulty: ModerateRationale: $1,000 / = $40. If you have just purchased a 4-year zero coupon bond, what would be the expected rateof return on your investment in the first year if the implied forward rates stay the same?(Par value of the bond = $1,000)A) 5%B) 3%C) 9%D) 10%E) none of the aboveAnswer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: The forward interest rate given for the first year of the investment is given as 3% (see table above).41. What is the price of a 2-year maturity bond with a 5% coupon rate paid annually? (Parvalue = $1,000)A) $1,B) $1,C) $1,D) $1,E) none of the aboveAnswer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/2 - 1 = %; FV = 1000, n = 2, PMT = 50, i = , PV = $1,42. What is the yield to maturity of a 3-year zero coupon bond?A) %B) %C) %D) 4%E) none of the aboveAnswer: D Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/3 - 1 = 4%.Use the following to answer questions 43-46:The following is a list of prices for zero coupon bonds with different maturities and par value of $1,000.43. What is, according to the expectations theory, the expected forward rate in the thirdyear?A)B) %C) %D) %E) none of the aboveAnswer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: / - 1 = %44. What is the yield to maturity on a 3-year zero coupon bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the aboveAnswer: D Difficulty: ModerateRationale: (1000 / 1/3 -1 = %45. What is the price of a 4-year maturity bond with a 10% coupon rate paid annually? (Parvalue = $1,000)A) $B) $1,C) $1,D) $1,E) none of the aboveAnswer: C Difficulty: DifficultRationale: (1000 / 1/4 -1 = %; FV = 1000, PMT = 100, n = 4, i = , PV = $1,46. You have purchased a 4-year maturity bond with a 9% coupon rate paid annually. Thebond has a par value of $1,000. What would the price of the bond be one year from now if the implied forward rates stay the same?A) $B) $1,C) $1,D) $1,E) none of the aboveAnswer: A Difficulty: DifficultRationale: / ]1/3 - = %; FV = 1000, PMT = 90, n = 3, i = , PV = $Use the following to answer question 47:47. Given the bond described above, if interest were paid semi-annually (rather thanannually), and the bond continued to be priced at $, the resulting effective annual yield to maturity would be:A) Less than 10%B) More than 10%C) 10%D) Cannot be determinedE) None of the aboveAnswer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: FV = 1000, PV = , PMT = 45, n = 36, i = (semi-annual); 2 - 1 = %.Use the following to answer questions 48-50:48. What should the purchase price of a 2-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased at thebeginning of year 2 and has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: D Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / [] = $49. What would the yield to maturity be on a four-year zero coupon bond purchased today?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the above.Answer: A Difficulty: ModerateRationale: [ ]1/4 - 1 = %50. Calculate the price at the beginning of year 1 of an 8% annual coupon bond with facevalue $1,000 and 5 years to maturity.A) $1,B) $1,C) $1,D) $1,E) $Answer: C Difficulty: DifficultRationale: i = [ ]1/5 - 1 = 6%; FV = 1000, PMT = 80, n = 5, i = 6, PV = $51. Given the yield on a 3 year zero-coupon bond is 7% and forward rates of 6% in year 1and % in year 2, what must be the forward rate in year 3?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) none of the above.Answer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: f3 = 3 / [ ] - 1 = %Use the following to answer questions 52-61:52. What should the purchase price of a 1-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased todayand has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: D Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / = $53. What should the purchase price of a 2-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased todayand has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: B Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / [] = $54. What should the purchase price of a 3-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased todayand has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: E Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / [] = $55. What should the purchase price of a 4-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased todayand has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: B Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / [] = $56. What should the purchase price of a 5-year zero coupon bond be if it is purchased todayand has face value of $1,000?A) $B) $C) $D) $E) $Answer: A Difficulty: DifficultRationale: $1,000 / [] = $57. What is the yield to maturity of a 1-year bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) %Answer: A Difficulty: ModerateRationale: % (given in table)58. What is the yield to maturity of a 5-year bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) %Answer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/5 -1 = %59. What is the yield to maturity of a 4-year bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) %Answer: C Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/4 -1 = %60. What is the yield to maturity of a 3-year bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) %Answer: B Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/3 -1 = %61. What is the yield to maturity of a 2-year bond?A) %B) %C) %D) %E) %Answer: D Difficulty: ModerateRationale: []1/2 -1 = %Essay Questions62. Discuss the three theories of the term structure of interest rates. Include in yourdiscussion the differences in the theories, and the advantages/disadvantages of each.Difficulty: ModerateAnswer:The expectations hypothesis is the most commonly accepted theory of term structure.The theory states that the forward rate equals the market consensus expectation of future short-term rates. Thus, yield to maturity is determined solely by current and expected future one-period interest rates. An upward sloping, or normal, yield curve wouldindicate that investors anticipate an increase in interest rates. An inverted, or downward sloping, yield curve would indicate an expectation of decreased interest rates. Ahorizontal yield curve would indicate an expectation of no interest rate changes.The liquidity preference theory of term structure maintains that short-term investorsdominate the market; thus, in general, the forward rate exceeds the expected short-term rate. In other words, investors prefer to be liquid to illiquid, all else equal, and willdemand a liquidity premium in order to go long term. Thus, liquidity preference readily explains the upward sloping, or normal, yield curve. However, liquidity preferencedoes not readily explain other yield curve shapes.Market segmentation and preferred habitat theories indicate that the markets fordifferent maturity debt instruments are segmented. Market segmentation maintains that the rates for the different maturities are determined by the intersection of the supply and demand curves for the different maturity instruments. Market segmentation readilyexplains all shapes of yield curves. However, market segmentation is not observed in the real world. Investors and issuers will leave their preferred maturity habitats if yields are attractive enough on other maturities.The purpose of this question is to ascertain that students understand the variousexplanations (and deficiencies of these explanations) of term structure.63. Term structure of interest rates is the relationship between what variables? What isassumed about other variables? How is term structure of interest rates depictedgraphically?Difficulty: ModerateAnswer:Term structure of interest rates is the relationship between yield to maturity and term to maturity, all else equal. The "all else equal" refers to risk class. Term structure ofinterest rates is depicted graphically by the yield curve, which is usually a graph of .governments of different yields and different terms to maturity. The use of .governments allows one to examine the relationship between yield and maturity,holding risk constant. The yield curve depicts this relationship at one point in time only.This question is designed to ascertain that students understand the relationshipsinvolved in term structure, the restrictions on the relationships, and how therelationships are depicted graphically.64. Although the expectations of increases in future interest rates can result in an upwardsloping yield curve; an upward sloping yield curve does not in and of itself imply the expectations of higher future interest rates. Explain.Difficulty: ModerateAnswer:The effects of possible liquidity premiums confound any simple attempt to extractexpectation from the term structure. That is, the upward sloping yield curve may be due to expectations of interest rate increases, or due to the requirement of a liquiditypremium, or both. The liquidity premium could more than offset expectations ofdecreased interest rates, and an upward sloping yield would result.The purpose of this question is to assure that the student understands the confounding of the liquidity premium with the expectations hypothesis, and that the interpretations of term structure are not clear-cut.65. Explain what the following terms mean: spot rate, short rate, and forward rate. Whichof these is (are) observable today?Difficulty: ModerateAnswer:From the answer to Concept Check 2, on page 516: “The n-period spot rate is the yield to maturity on a zero-coupon bond with a maturity of n periods. The short rate forperiod n is the one-period interest rate that will prevail in period n. The forward rate for period n is the short rate th at would satisfy a “break-even condition” equating the total returns on two n-period investment strategies. The first strategy is an investment in an n-period zero-coupon bond. The second is an investment in an n-1 period zero-coupon bond “rolled over” i nto an investment in a one-period zero. Spot rates and forward rates are observable today, but because interest rates evolve with uncertainty, future short rates are not. In the special case in which there is no uncertainty in future interest rates, the forward rate calculated from the yield curve would equal the short rate that will prevail in that period.”This question checks whether the student understands the difference between each kind of rate.66. Answer the following questions that relate to bonds.• A 2-year zero-coupon bond is selling for $. What is the yield to maturity of this bond?•The price of a 1-year zero coupon bond is $. What is the yield to maturity of this bond?•Calculate the forward rate for the second year.•How can you construct a synthetic one-year forward loan (you are agreeing now to loan in one year)? State the strategy and show the corresponding cash flows.Assume that you can purchase and sell fractional portions of bonds. Show allcalculations and discuss the meaning of the transactions.Difficulty: Difficult。
Expressing preferences declaratively in logic-based agent languagesStefania Costantini Universit`a degli Studi di L’Aquila Dipartimento di InformaticaVia Vetoio,Loc.Coppito,I-67010L’Aquila-ItalyEmail:stefcost@di.univaq.itPierangelo Dell’AcquaDepartment of Science andTechnology-ITNLink¨o ping University60174Norrk¨o ping,SwedenEmail:pier@itn.liu.seArianna TocchioUniversit`a degli Studi di L’AquilaDipartimento di InformaticaVia Vetoio,Loc.Coppito,I-67010L’Aquila-ItalyEmail:tocchio@di.univaq.itAbstract—In this paper we present an approach to intro-ducing preferences among actions in logic-based agent-oriented languages.These preferences are expressed in the body of rules (i.e.,they are local to the rule where they are defined).To the best of our knowledge,no similar approach has been proposed before,and cannot be easily simulated by means of preferences expressed in the head of rules,which are global.The approach is applied to choosing which action an agent should perform in reaction to an event,among the feasible ones.I.I NTRODUCTIONIntelligent agents perform advanced activities such as ne-gotiation,bargaining,etc.where they have to choose among alternatives.The choice will be based on some kind of preference or priorities related for instance to:•the agent’s objectives;•the context(cooperative petitive);•available resources;•the strategies that the agent intends to follow.Agents will in general include specialized modules and/or meta-level axioms for applying priorities and preferences,like for instance those proposed in[9]for prioritized defeasible reasoning.However,it can be useful in logical agents to be able to express preferences at a more basic linguistic level. These basic preferences can then be employed in building more advanced high-level strategies.At the language level, preferences have already been expressed in various way in Answer Set Programming[8][12].In that context,the basic mechanism is that of computing the Answer Sets and then chose“preferred”ones.We will shortly review below the work of Brewka on LPODS(Logic Programs with Ordered Disjunction)[2]and the work of Sakama and Inue on PLP (Prioritized Logic Programming)[13].The reader may refer to the latter paper and to[6]for a discussion of relevant existing approaches.Some of them are based on establish-ing priorities/preferences among atoms(facts),and typically introduce some form of disjunction in the head of rules.Other approaches express instead priorities among rules.Our proposal is aimed at allowing an agent to express pref-erences concerning either which action they would perform in a given situation,or,in perspective,which goal they would pursue in a certain stage.Since actions are often performed in reaction to events and goals are set in accordance to some internal conclusion that has been reached,we propose to introduce disjunction in the body of rules.If the body of a rule contains a disjunction among two or more actions,the preferred one will be chosen according to preference rules, that may have a body in that(following[13])priorities may be conditional.If agents evolve with time and enlarge their knowledge and experience,priorities may dynamically change according to the agent evolution.In agent languages that are not based on Answer Set Programming,one cannot select the preferred model(s)by means of afilter on possible models.Then,other techniques are needed in order to provide a semantic account to this proposal.Recently,an approach to declarative semantics of logical agent-oriented languages that considers evolution of agents has appeared in the literature[5]:changes that occur either externally(i.e.,reception of exogenous events)or in-ternally(i.e.,courses of actions undertaken based on internal conditions)are considered as making a change in the agent program,which is a logical theory,and in its semantics (however defined).For such a change to be represented,it is understood as the application of a program-transformation function.Thus,agent evolution is seen as program evolution, with a corresponding semantic evolution.This semantic approach can be applied to the present setting by adapting the proposal of the split programs introduced in [2].A split program is a version of the given program obtained by replacing each disjunction by one of its options.Then,at each step we would have a set of possible evolutions,each corresponding to a split program.Among them,the preferred one(according to the present conditions)is taken,while all the others are pruned.As mentioned before,given similar situations in different stages of the agent life,different options can be taken,according to the present assessment of the agent knowledge.Though simple,this mechanism is to the best of our knowledge new,as no similar approach has been proposed before,and it cannot be easily simulated by existing ones.In Section II we review some features that intelligent logical agents should in our opinion possess,and the related usefulness of introducing preferences.In Section III we briefly review previous related work on preferences.In Section V we introduce the approach,and in Section VI its semantics. Finally,we conclude in Section VII.II.E NHANCING CAPABILITIES OF L OGICAL A GENTS BYINTRODUCING P REFERENCESA great deal can be said about features that agents in general and logical agents in particular should possess(for a review the reader may refer for instance to[14],for a discussion to[11]). It is widely recognized however that agents,whatever the language and the approach on which they are based,should be able to cope with a changing and partially known environment. In this environment,agents should be able to interact,when they deem it appropriate,with other agents or with the user in order to complete their own problem solving and to help others with their activities.Interacting agents may act according to suitable strategies, which include expressing preferences and establishing prior-ities,possibly with the aid of past experiences.In our view, complex strategies can take profit of basic linguistic constructs reminiscent of those introduced in Answer Set Programming. Our proposal is aimed at allowing an agent to express pref-erences/priorities(in the following,we will often interchange the two terms)concerning either which action they would perform in a given situation,or also,in perspective,which goal they would pursue in a certain stage.Since actions are often performed in reaction to events and goals are set in accordance to some internal conclusion that has been reached,we propose to introduce disjunction in the body of rules.If the body of a rule contains a disjunction among two or more actions,the preferred one is chosen according to preference rules,that may have a body.I.e.,following[13],priorities may be conditional. Also,preference rules may contain references to the agent past experience,and then the preferred choice may change over time.More precisely,whenever the body of a rule contains a disjunction among two or more actions,the intended meaning is the following:•preference rules establish which action is preferred;•precondition of the action state whether it can be actually performed,i.e.,if it is feasible;•the agent should perform the best preferred feasible action.III.P REVIOUS R ELATED W ORKThe reader may refer to[6]for a discussion of many existing approaches to preferences.The main distinction is among those that define priorities/preferences among atoms (facts),and typically introduce some form of disjunction in the head of rules,and those that express instead priorities among rules.Among the latter ones,we mention[10]that applies preferences among rules in negotiating agents basedon argumentation,so as to tune argumentations according to changing contexts.The approach of[13]considers general extended disjunctive programs where a rule has the syntax:L1|...|L k|not L k+1|...|not L k+h←Body where“|”represents disjunction and not is negation as failure under the Answer Set semantics.A preference,or priority,between two ground literals e1,e2is expressed in the form e1≺e2.An answer set S2of a given program is preferable onto another answer set S1iff S2\S1contains an element e2whose priority is higher than some element e1 in S1\S2,and the latter does not contain another element e3whose priority is strictly higher that e2.Then,preferred answer sets(or p-answer sets)are a subset of the traditional ones,that can be seen as a special case corresponding to empty priorities.Basic PLP is exploited in[13]so as to express priorities not only between plain facts,but also between more general forms of knowledge.The approach allows many forms of commonsense reasoning to be modeled.An interesting application is that of priority with precon-ditions.For instance,borrowing the example from[13],the situation where a person drinks tea or coffee but she prefers coffee to tea when sleepy can be represented as follows(in a prolog-like syntax):tea|coffee.tea≺coffee:-sleepy.This program can be translated in a standard way in plain PLP and,assuming that sleepy holds,has the p-answer set {sleepy,coffee}.In LPODS[2],one can write expressions such as A×B in the head of rules,where the new connective×stands for ordered disjunction.The expression intuitively stands for:if possible A,but if A is impossible then(at least)B.If there are several disjuncts,thefirst one represents the best preferred option,the second one represents the second best option,etc. The following is an example where a person who wishes to spend the evening out and has money prefers to go to theatre, or else(if impossible)to go to the cinema,or else(if both previous options cannot be taken)to go to dine at a restaurant.theatre×cinema×restaurant:-want to go out,have money.For selecting the preferred answer set(s)of a program P, one obtains the possible split programs of P,where a split program P′is obtained from P by replacing each disjunctive rule by one of its options.Then,the answer sets of P are taken to be the answer sets of the split programs.To choose preferred ones given that there may be several disjunctions,a notion of degree of satisfaction of disjunctive rules must be defined,that 2induces a partial ordering on answer sets.Preferred answer sets are those that satisfy all rules of P to the better degree.IV.C OMPARISONTo the best of our knowledge,the approach of introducing preferences in the body of logical rules is novel,and has never appeared in the literature.It cannot be easily simulated by using preferences in the head:in fact,preferences expressed in the body are local to the rule where they occur,while preferences defined in the head are global.The application to agents performing actions is also new.As an agent evolves in time and its knowledge changes,preferred choices will change as well.Then,according to the same preference structure an agent will in general prefer differently in different stages of its life.V.T HE APPROACH IN MORE DETAILWe will now introduce a simple though in our opinion effective construct that can be employed in agent-oriented logic languages based on logic(horn-clause)programming. Similarly to[13],we assume the following:•preferences are expressed between two ground facts;•preferences are expressed explicitly by means of special rules,that may have conditions;•preference is transitive,irreflexive and anti-symmetric. In our approach,preferences can be defined between actions that agents may perform.We make some preliminary assump-tion about the agent languages we are considering.We do not commit to any particular syntax,though we will propose a sample one in order to introduce and illustrate examples. We will discuss the semantics of the class of languages that we consider in Section VI.By saying“an agent”we mean a program written in the language at hand,that behaves as an agent when it is put at work.We assume in particular the following syntactic and operational features.•The agent is able to perceive external events coming from the environment where the agent is situated.In our sample syntax an external event is an atom which is distinguished by postfix E.E.g.,rainE indicates an external event.•The agent is able to react to external events,i.e.,the lan-guage provides some kind of condition-action construct.In our sample syntax ee indicate reaction by means of the connective:>.Then,a reactive rule will be indicated with pE:>Body meaning that whenever the external event pE is perceived,the agent will execute Body.There are languages(like,e.g.,the one presented in[3])where an agent can react to its own internal conclusions,that are interpreted as events(thus modeling proactivity).We assume that the syntax for reaction is the same in both cases.However,an internally generated event is indicated with postifix I,i.e.,in the form pI.•The agent is able to perform actions.Actions will occur in the agent program as special atoms.In our sample syntax we assume them to be in the form qA,i.e.,they are distinguished by suffix A.E.g.,open umbrellaAindicates an action.Actions may have preconditions:Inour sample syntax we assume them to be expressed byrules.The connective:<indicates that the rule definesthe precondition of an action.I.e.,a precondition rule willbe indicated as qA:<Body,meaning that the action qAcan be performed only if Body is true.We do not copehere with the effective execution of actions,that is left tothe language run-time support.In the proposed approach,a disjunction(indicated with “|”)of actions may occur in the body of a reactive rule. Preferences among actions are defined in preference rules, that are indicated by the new connective<<.Then,a rule pE:>q1A|q2A means that in reaction to pE the agent may perform either action q1A or action q2A.A rule q1A<<q2A:-Body means that action q2A is preferred over action q1A provided that Body is true.I.e.,if Body is not true the preference is not applicable,and then any of the actions can be indifferently executed.A set of preference rules define in general a partial order among actions,where preferences are transitively applied and actions that are unordered can be indifferently executed.In our approach preferences are applied on feasible actions.I.e.,the partial order among actions must be re-evaluated at each step of the agent life where a choice is possible,according to the preconditions of the actions.The preferred actions at each stage are those that can actually be performed and that are selected by the preference partial order.Example5.1:Consider a person who receives an invitation to go out.She would prefer accepting the invitation rather than refusing,provided that the invitation comes from nice people.She is able to accept if she has money and time.The invitation is an external event that reaches the agent from her external environment.Accepting or refusing constitutes the reaction to the event,and both are actions.One of the actions (namely,accepting)has preconditions.In our sample syntax, an agent program fragment formalizing this situation may look as follows.invitationE:>acceptA|rejectA.acceptA:<have money,have time.refuseA<<acceptA:-nice people inviting.When the external event invitationE is perceived by the agent,it can react by alternatively performing one of two actions.The action acceptA will be performed if its precondi-tions are verified.As preferences are among feasible actions, acceptA is preferred provided that nice people inviting holds. Notice that this is not known in advance,as the agent evolves in time:the invitation may arrive at a stage of the agent operation when time and money are available,and then the preferred action is chosen.If instead the invitation(or,another future invitation)arrives when there are no resources for accepting,the agent will refuse the invitation.Another example will introduce further aspects.Example5.2:Let us now rephrase the example of the person preferring coffee over tea if sleepy.Let us put it in 3a proactive perspective,where the person wonders whether it is time to take a break from working,e.g.,at mid-afternoon. If so,she will consider whether to drink tea or coffee.The corresponding program fragment might look as follows,where take break is an internal conclusion that triggers a proactive behavior:thefirst rule reaches the conclusion that taking a break is in order;the second rule states what to do then,i.e., specifies a reaction to the internal conclusion itself(indicated in the second rule with postfix I for“internal”).For the mechanism to be effective,take break must be attempted from time to time,so as to trigger the consequent behavior as soon as it becomes true.take break:-five oclock.take breakI:>drink teaA|drink coffeeA.drink coffeeA:<espresso.drink teaA<<drink coffeeA:-sleepy.Again,what the agent will do depends upon the present conditions,i.e.,upon whether the agent feels sleepy or not. Moreover,in this variation the agent drinks coffee only if she can have an espresso.Assume now that there is also the option of drinking juice, though the agent will only drink orange juice,and that the agent prefers juice to tea.Then the program becomes:take break:-five oclock.take breakI:>drink teaA|drink coffeeA|drink juiceA.drink coffeeA:<espresso.drink juiceA:<orange.drink teaA<<drink coffeeA:-sleepy.drink teaA<<drink juiceA.The expected behavior is the following:•If sleepy holds and espresso holds as well,the agent can drink coffee(the action drink coffeeA is allowed) and will not drink tea,which is less preferred.If orange does not hold,the agent will definitely drink coffee.•If sleepy holds and espresso holds as well,the agent can drink coffee(the action drink coffeeA is allowed) and will not drink tea,which is less preferred.If orange holds,also the action drink juiceA is allowed,and pre-ferred over drink teaA.The agent can indifferently drink either coffee or juice,as they are unrelated.•If espresso does not hold,the agent cannot drink cof-fee(the action drink coffeeA is not allowed).Then,if orange holds then the agent will drink juice(the action drink juiceA will be performed),otherwise it will drink tea(as the action drink teaA is always allowed,not having preconditions).•If sleepy does not hold,there is no preference between tea and coffee.If orange does not hold and espresso holds, one of the two actions drink teaA or drink coffeeA can be indifferently executed.If orange holds and espresso holds as well,drink juiceA is preferred over drink teaA,but as no other priority is specified,one of the actionsdrink coffeeA or drink juiceA can be indifferently exe-cuted.VI.D ECLARATIVE S EMANTICS OF E VOLVING A GENTSWITH P REFERENCESThe evolutionary semantics that has been proposed in[5] has the objective of providing a unifying framework for various languages and semantics for reactive and proactive logical agents.This semantic approach is based upon declaratively mod-eling the changes inside an agent which are determined both by changes in the environment and by the agent’s own self-modifications.The key idea is to understand these changes as the result of the application of program-transformation functions.In this view,a program-transformation function is applied for instance upon reception of either an external or an internal event,the latter having a possibly different meaning in different formalisms.That is,perception of an event can be understood as having an effect on the program which defines the agent:for instance,the event can be stored as a new fact in the program.Similarly,actions which are performed can be recorded as new facts.All the“past”events and actions will constitute the“experience”of the agent.Recording each event or action or any other change that occurs inside an agent can be semantically interpreted as transforming the agent program into a new program,that may procedurally behave differently than before: e.g.,by possibly reacting to the event,or drawing conclusions from past experience.Or also,the internal event corresponding to the decision of the agent to undertake an activity triggers a more complex program transformation,resulting in version of the program where the corresponding intention is somewhat “loaded”so as to become executable.Then,in general one will have an initial program P0which, according to these program-transformation steps(each one transforming P i into P i+1),gives rise to a Program Evo-lution Sequence P E=[P0,...,P n].The program evolution sequence will have a corresponding Semantic Evolution Se-quence ME=[M0,...,M n]where M i is the semantic account of P i according to the specific language and the chosen semantics.The couple P E;ME is called the Evolutionary Semantics of the agent program P Ag,corresponding to the particular sequence of changes that has happened,and to the order in which they have been considered.The evolutionary semantics of an agent represents the history of an agent without introducing a concept of a“state”.The different languages and different formalisms will influ-ence the following key points:1)When a transition from P i to P i+1takes place,i.e.,which are the external and/or internal factors that de-termine a change in the agent.2)Which kind of transformations are performed.3)Which semantic approach is adopted,i.e.,how M i isobtained from P i.M i might be for instance a model, 4or an initial algebra,or a set of Answer Sets if the given language is based on Answer Set Programming (that comes from the stable model semantics of[8]).In general,given a semantics S we will have M i=S(P i).A transition from P i to P i+1can reasonably take place,for instance:•When an event happens.•When an action is performed.•When a new goal is set.•Upon reception of new knowledge from other agents.•In consequence to the decision to accept/reject the new knowledge.•In consequence to the agent decision to revise its own knowledge.We say that at stage P i+1of the evolution the agent has perceived event ev(whatever its class)meaning that the transition from P i to P i+1has taken place in consequence of reception of ev.It is reasonable to assume that in the stage P i+1the agent will cope with ev,e.g.,by reacting to it if it is an external event.Example6.1:It is useful to discuss how the program trans-formation step related to actions might be formalized.Intu-itively,an action atom(like e.g.drink coffeeA in a previous example)should become true given its preconditions,if any (espresso in the example)whenever the action is actually performed in some rule.For the sake of simplicity assume that(like in the examples presented above)actions can occur only in the body of reactive rules.Declaratively,this means that the action occurs in the body of an applicable reactive rule.Practically,whenever that rule will be processed by the interpreter because the corresponding (external or internal)event has happened,the action will be actually performed(by means of any kind of mechanism that connects the agent to its environment).To account for this behavior,in the initialization step each rule defining preconditions for actions,say of the formactA:<C1,...,C sis transformed into a set of rules of the form:actA:-D1,...,D h,C1,...,C swhere D1,...,D h,h≥0are the conditions(except for other actions)of each reactive rule where actA occurs in the body. The C i’s are omitted if actA has no preconditions. Whenever at some stage P i of the program evolution actA will be attempted and feasible as its preconditions are true,we will have actA∈M i.It can be useful in general to perform an Initialization step,where the program P Ag,written by the programmer,is transformed into a corresponding initial program P0by means of some sort of knowledge compilation.This initialization step can be understood as a rewriting of the program in an intermediate language and/or as the loading of a“virtual machine”that supports language features.This stage can on one extreme do nothing,on the other extreme it can performcomplex transformations by producing“code”that implements language features in the underlying logical formalism.P0can be simply a program(logical theory)or can have additional information associated to it.This semantic approach can be extended so as to encompass the present proposal.As afirst point,in the initialization step preferences must be collected and preference rules removed. Then,P0will not contain preference rules,but will be associ-ated to a structure Pref where preferences between couples of (ground)actions are made explicit,by performing the transitive closure of preference rules.The conditions of a preference rule (if any)are added as preconditions of the preferred action.We adapt the idea of split program from[2].A split program is a version of the given program obtained by replacing a dis-junction by one of its options.In our case,whenever an agent at stage P i of its evolution has perceived an(either external or internal)event,say pE,it will react to it.However,if there is a disjunction of actions in the body of the corresponding reactive rule,then the agent may react in more that one way. The different ways of reacting are represented by different split programs,each one representing an alternative.Precisely,Definition1:Let P Ag be an agent program that has been transformed into a program P0by the initialization step.Let P i be the program obtained from the evolution of P0at the i-th step,corresponding to the perception of event pE.Let pE:>Body be the corresponding reactive rule in P i,where a disjunction of actions occurs in Body.A split program P′i is obtained by replacing the disjunction with one of its options.Referring to the program of Example5.1,at the initialization step it is transformed into:invitationE:>acceptA|rejectA.acceptA:<have money,have time,nice people inviting.where the preference refuseA<<acceptA is recorded in the structure Pref.Then,whenever the event invitationE will be perceived will be two split programs:afirst one,sayφ1, where the body of the reactive rule contains only acceptA, and a second one,sayφ2,where the body of the reactive rule contains only refuseA.We will have a set{P1i,...,P k i}of split programs cor-responding to the number k of actions occurring in the disjunction.Assuming that events are considered one at a time (i.e.,an evolution step copes with a single event),at each stage split programs will be relative to a single reactive rule,and will correspond to a set{M1i,...,M k i}where M j i is the semantics of P j i.We say that we a split occurs at stage P i of program evolution whenever at that stage the incoming event is related to a reactive rule with a disjunction of actions in its body.The preferred split programs are those whose semantics contain the preferred actions.Precisely:Definition2:Let P Ag be an agent program that has been transformed into a program P0by the initialization step,and let Pref be the preference structure that has been associated 5to the program.Let P i correspond to a step of the evolution of P0,where a split occurs.Given two split programs P r i and P s i obtained from P i by splitting a disjunction act1A|...|act k A, then P r i is preferred over P s i if the following conditions hold:•the semantics M r i of P r i contains act r A i;•act r A i is preferred over act s A i according to Pref. Notice that both M r i and M s i may not contain the corre-sponding action(act r A i and act s A i respectively),in case its preconditions are false.Then,a split program is preferred upon another one if(i)its semantics entails the related action and (ii)either the semantics of the other one does not entail the related action,or the former action is preferred.Then,at each step where a split occurs we have a set of possible evolutions,each corresponding to a split program. Among them,the preferred one(according to the present conditions)is taken,while all the others are pruned.As mentioned before,given similar situations at different stages of the agent life,different options can be taken,according to the present assessment of the agent knowledge.In the example,φ1 will be preferred toΦ2whenever it actually entails acceptA. We can have a unique best preferred split program P b i if Pref is a total order with respect to the actions over which we split,or we may have more than one equally preferred split programs.Any of them can be indifferently selected.Definition3:Let P i be a stage of the program evolution sequence,where a split occurs.We let P i+1be any of the best preferred split programs.VII.C ONCLUDING R EMARKSIn this paper we have presented an approach to express-ing preferences among actions and in logical agents.The approach builds on previous relevant work related to answer set programming,but is rephrased for reactive and proactive agents that evolve in time.In fact,the semantics of the approach is given in evolutionary terms,where an agent program is considered to be modified by events that happen and actions that are performed,while its semantic account evolve correspondingly.There are others approaches in computational logic that are related to the present one,and to which we are indebted, namely[1]and[7],where preferences and updating pref-erences are coped with in the context of a more general approach to updating logic programs.We may notice that the examples that we have presented basically refer to the syntax and procedural semantics of the DALI language[3],[4],[14]. Actually they correspond to working DALI programs,though the implementation is prototypical and is being experimented. Our next research objective is to extend the possibility of expressing preferences to all kinds of subgoals occurring in the body of logical rules,instead of coping with actions only. Another important objective is to extend the approach so as to be able to express preferences among agent goals(objectives to reach).In fact,the reasoning can be similar.Actually,setting an objective is related to building a plan for achieving it.Aplan however can be seen as divided into:1)a preliminary check stage,where feasibility of subse-quent actions is checked(are the tickets available?Do Ihave the money?Do my friends accept to join me?MayI rent a car?);2)an operative stage,where actions that influence theenvironment(and in general cannot be retracted,or atleast not so easily)are performed.Thefirst stage can be seen as a feasibility stage for setting an objective.Then,if there is a disjunction of objectives in the body of a rule,we mean that the agent should set the most preferred feasible one.R EFERENCES[1]J.J.Alferes,P.Dell’Acqua and L.M.Pereira,A compilation of updatesplus preferences.Logics in Artificial Intelligence,Proc.of the8th Europ.Conf.,JELIA2002,LNAI2424,Springer-Verlag,2002,pp.62-74.[2]G.Brewka,Logic programming with ordered disjunction,In Proc.ofAAAI-02,Edmonton,Canada,2002.[3]S.Costantini and A.Tocchio,A logic programming language for multi-agent systems.Logics in Artificial Intelligence,Proc.of the8th Europ.Conf.,JELIA2002,LNAI2424,Springer-Verlag,2002.[4]S.Costantini,A.Tocchio,The DALI logic programming agent-orientedlanguage.Logics in Artificial Intelligence,Proc.of the9th EuropeanConference,Jelia2004,Lisbon,September2004.LNAI3229,Springer-Verlag,Germany,2004.[5]S.Costantini,A.Tocchio,About declarative semantics of logic-basedagent languages.In M.Baldoni and P.Torroni(eds.),Declarative AgentLanguages and Technologies,Post-Proc.of DALT2005.LNAI3229,Springer-Verlag,Germany,2006.[6]J.Delgrande,T.Schaub,H.Tompits and K.Wang,A classification andsurvey of preference handling approaches in nonmonotonic reasoning.Computational Intelligence,2004.[7]P.Dell’Acqua and L.M.Pereira,Preferring and updating in logic-based agents.In:Web-Knowledge Management and Decision Support.Selected Papers from the14th Int.Conf.on Applications of Prolog(INAP),LNAI2543,Springer-Verlag,Berlin,2003,pp.70-85.[8]M.Gelfond and V.Lifschitz,The stable model semantics for logicprogramming.Proc.of5th ILPS conference,1988,pp.1070-1080.[9]M.Gelfond and T.C.Son,Reasoning with prioritized defaults.InProc.of the3rd Int.Works.on Logic Programming and KnowledgeRepresentation,LNAI1471,Springer-Verlag,Berlin,1998,pp.164-223.[10] A.Kakas and P.Moraitis,Adaptive agent negotiation via argumentation.In Proc.of the5th International Joint Conf.on Autonomous Agents andMulti-Agent Systems(AAMAS’06),Hakodate,Japan,2006.[11]R.A.Kowalski,The logical way to be artificially intelligent,Compu-tational Logic in Multi-Agent Systems(CLIMA VI Post-Proceedings),LNAI3900,Springer-Verlag,Berlin,2005,pp.1-22.[12]V.Lifschitz,Answer set planning.Invited talk.Proc.of ICLP’99Conf.,pp.23–37.The MIT Press,1999.[13] C.Sakama and K.Inoue,Prioritized logic programming and itsapplication to commonsense reasoning.Artif.Int.123(1-2),Elsevier,2000,pp.185-222.[14] A.Tocchio,Multi-Agent systems in computational logic,Ph.D.Thesis,Dipartimento di Informatica,Universit´a degli Studi di L’Aquila,2005. 6。