单选题Increasingly over the last few years, corporations involved in patent litigation have opted to settle the lawsuit rather than facing the protracted legal expenses of a court battle.A have opted to settle the lawsuit rather than facingB have opted settl

In fact, they would rather have left for London __________ in Birmingham.

A．to stay
B．in order to stay
C．than have stayed
D．instead of having stayed

It’s so cold，I think l will have a cup of hot coffee__________a cold drink．

A.than
B.no more than
C.rather than
D.more than

Text 2 Over the past decade,thousands of patents have been granted for what are called business methods.Amazon.com received one for its"one-click"online payment system.Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy.One inventor patented a technique for lifting a box.Now the nation's top patent court appears completely ready to scale back on business-method patents,which have been controversial ever since they were first authorized 10 years ago.In a move that has intellectual-property lawyers abuzz the U.S.court of Appeals for the federal circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of business-method patents.In re Bilski,as the case is known,is"a very big deal",says DennisD.Crouch of the University of Missouri School of law.It"has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents."Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face,because it was the federal circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called state Street Bank case,approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets.That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings,initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclusive rights to specific types of online transactions.Later,more established companies raced to add such patents to their files,if only as a defensive move against rivals that might beat them to the punch.In 2005,IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them.Similarly,some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with patents for financial products,even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice.The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market.The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the court's judges,rather than a typical panel of three,and that one issue it wants to evaluate is whether it should"reconsider"its state street Bank ruling.The Federal Circuit's action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme Court that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders.Last April,for example the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for"inventions"that are obvious.The judges on the Federal circuit are"reacting to the anti-patent trend at the Supreme Court",says HaroldC.Wegner,a patent attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.29.We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents

A.are immune to legal challenges
B.are often unnecessarily issued
C.lower the esteem for patent holders
D.increase the incidence of risks

Over the past decade, thousands of patents have been granted for what are called business methods. Amazon.com received one for its "one-click"online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lifting a box.
Now the nation's top patent court appears completely ready to scale back on business-method patents, which have been controversial ever since they were first authorized 10 years ago. In a move that has intellectual-property lawyers abuzz, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of business-method patents. In re Bil-ski, as the case is known, is "a very big deal," says Dennis D．Crouch of the University of Mis-souri School of law. It "has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents."
Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called State Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclusive rights to specific types of online transactions. Later, more established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might beat them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents, despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice.
The Bilski ease involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market. The Federal Circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the court's judges, rather than a typical panel of three, and that one issue it wants to evaluate is whether it should "reconsider" its State Street Bank ruling.
The Federal Circuit's action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme Court that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for example, the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for "inventions" that are obvious. The judges on the Federal Circuit are "reacting to the anti-patent trend at the Supreme Court," says Harold C． Wegner, a patent attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
Business-method patents have recendy aroused concern because of

A.their limited value to businesses
B.their connection with asset allocation
C.the possible restriction on their granting
D.the controversy over their authorization

What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow , orange ,red? If you do ,you must be an optimist, a leader, an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer greys and blues? Then you are probably quiet,shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be a pessimist. At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know,because they have been seriously studying the meaning of colours preference, as well as the effect that colours have on human beings. They tells us, among other facts,that we do not choose our favourite clour as we grow up----we are born with our preference.If you happen to love brown, you did so, as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
Colours do influence our moods----there is no doubt about it .A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand ,black is depressing. A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides than any other bridge in the area ----until it was repainter green.The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply ;perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
Light and bright colours make people not only hppier but more active. It is an established fact that factory workers work better,harder ,and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.
"You would rather follow than red" means_______.

a.you don't like to follow others
b.you would be a member rather than a leader
c.you would be afraid of following others
d.you would like to be a leader rather than a follower

How does codification of the laws affect governmental agents？( )

A.The law will be interpreted objectively rather than subjectively
B.Government agencies have to compromise with factual conditions
C.Occasionally，governmental agencies have to redress，correct or adapt a law for their beneft
D.Laws cannot be altered or modified but they can be incremented with new court decisions and also through jurisprudence