The Federal Circuit’s action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme. Count that has nurrowed 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 “reaction to the anti_patent trend at the supreme court” says Harole C wegner, a partend attorney and professor at aeorge Washington University Law School。

　　26. Business-method patents have recently aroused concern because of

　　[A] their limited value to business

　　[B] their connection with asset allocation

　　[C] the possible restriction on their granting

　　[D] the controversy over authorization

　　27. Which of the following is true of the Bilski case?

　　[A] Its rulling complies with the court decisions

　　[B] It involves a very big business transaction

　　[C] It has been dismissed by the Federal Circuit

　　[D] It may change the legal practices in the U.S。

　　28. The word “about-face”(Line 1, Paro 3)most probably means

　　[A] loss of good will

　　[B]increase of hostility

　　[C]change of attitude

　　[D] change of auiuled

　　29.We learn from the last two pamgraphs that business-meihod Pateats

　　[A] are immune to legal challenges

　　[B] are of ten unnecessarily issued

　　[C] lower the esteem for pateat holders

　　[D] increase the incidence of risks

　　30.Which of the following would bethe subject ofthe text?

　　[A]A looming threat to bvamess-melhcd patents

　　[B]Protection for business-method patent holders

　　[C]A legal case regarding business-methodpatents

　　[D] A prevailing tread against business-method patents

　　Text 3

　　In his book The Tipping Poinl Malcohn aladuell aloues that social epidemics are dliven in largepart by the acting of a tiny minority of special

　　individuals,often calledin flu entials who are unusuall informed, persuasive, or we connect The idea is intuit ively compelling but it doesn't explain howideas actually spread。

　　The supposed importance of inftuentials derives from a plansible sounding but largely untested theory untested thelry called the "tow-step flow of communication" Information

　　llows from the mediato the inftuentials and from then to ereryone else. Marke ters have embraced the two-step flow became it suggests that if they can just find and

　　influence the in fluent ials, those select people will do most of the work for them Thetheory also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of people was

　　wearing promoting or developing whaterver it is before anyone else paid attention Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special

　　people call drivetrends

　　In their recent work howeyer some  researchers have come up with the finding that in fluentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is genetally supposed In