Everywhere you look, large quantities of information in the world are pouring. This data flood is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life. It has great potential for good — as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it.
A few industries have led the way in their ability to gather and take advantage of the data. Credit-card companies monitor every purchase and can identify cheats with a high degree of accuracy. Stolen credit cards are more likely to be used to buy hard liquor than wine, for example, because it is easier to overlook. Insurance firms are also good at combining clues to spot doubtful claims: dishonest claims are more likely to be made on a Monday than a Tuesday, since policyholders (保险客户) who stage accidents tend to assemble friends as false witnesses over the weekend. By combining many such rules, it is possible to work out which cards are likeliest to have been stolen, and which claims are untrue. By analyzing “basket data”, supermarkets can make promotions to appeal to particular customers’ preferences. The oil industry uses supercomputers to help them before drilling wells.
But the data flood also poses risks. There are many examples of databases being stolen: disks full of social-security data go missing, laptops loaded with tax records are left in taxis, credit-card numbers are stolen by online purchase. The result can be privacy made public, identity stolen and cheats permitted large space. Rather than owning and controlling their own personal data, they very often find that they have lost control of it.
The best way to deal with the data flood is to make more data available in the right way, by requiring greater transparency in several areas. First, users should be given greater access to and control over the information held about them, including whom it is shared with. Google allows users to see what information it holds about them, and lets them delete their search histories or modify the targeting of advertising, for example. Second, organizations should be required to disclose details of security breaches, as is already the case in some parts of the world, to encourage bosses to take information security more seriously. Third, organizations should be subject to an annual security check, with the resulting grade made public (though details of any problems exposed would not be). This would encourage companies to keep their security measures up to date.
59. What is the best title for this passage?
A. Information Flood B. Benefits of Data Flood
C. Harms of Data Flood D. How to Use Data in a Right Way
60. From the passage we can infer that ________.
A. lots of data are lost because of hardware problems
B. online purchases are becoming more and more popular
C. credit cards are not so secure to use and will go out of use very soon
D. insurance firms have to investigate before they confirm their policyholders’ claims
61. Which of the following is the writer’s opinion about how to deal with the data flood?
A. Personal information should be used for public benefits.
B. The users should be given the right to access public information.
C. Companies should update their measures to guarantee their data safety.
D. Organizations should keep their resulting grade of security checks unknown to the public.
62. From the passage we can conclude that _________.
A. the data flood makes peoples’ life less convenient and more expensive
B. companies and insurance firms are responsible for the data flood
C. the information flood is more useful to organizations than to individuals
D. the information flood has both positive and negative influence on modern life
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
A
BILL GATES has promised to give all of his US $ 58 billion fortune to charity—rather than leaving it for his children.
The founder of Microsoft, who steps down from his post Friday, said he wants to make a “positive contribution” to the world. He has promised to transfer his money to the charity he has set up with his wife Melinda, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which funds health and education projects around the world.
He revealed(透露) his decision a week before he steps down as executive chairman of Microsoft, the firm he founded more than 30 years ago. The 52yearold will continue to work as nonexecutive chairman and will spend just one day a week at the business.
Speaking about the jointdecision he made regarding his fortune with his wife, he said,“We’ve chosen not to pass it on to our children. We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive impact.” He said he did not want to leave it in his will for his children and added,“It’s like saying which children are most important.”
In an interview with BBC’s Newsnight, he said:“I want to make a positive contribution to the world.”
Bill Gates will step down from his post Friday, 33 years after he founded Microsoft in 1975. His success with the computer giant has made him the richest man in the world for 13 years in a row according to Fortune magazine’s rich list.
When he founded the firm he said he wanted to put “a computer on every desk and in every home.” Many people have said that the computer revolution would not have happened without him and more than 90 percent of computers in the world run on Microsoft Windows.
He will be succeeded in his post by Steve Balmer, the cochief executive since 2000. Although the move was announced two years ago and there has been lots of planning, many people speculate that Gates’ departure will leave a big gap in the firm.
Charlene Li, from Consultants Forrester Research, said:“What they’re going to lose is that founding focus, and the ability to rally the troops.”
Microsoft has an outstanding financial performance and currently has profit margins estimated at 30 percent. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation claims to be the biggest philanthropic organization in the world.
51.Why has BILL GATES promised to give all of his US $58 billion fortune to charity?
A.He wants to make a positive contribution to the world.
B.He has set up the charity with his wife Melinda.
C.He has decided to step down from his post.
D.More than 90 percent of computers in the world run on Microsoft Windows.
52.Who set up the charity to which Bill Gates will transfer the money?
A.Bill Gates. B.Melinda Gates.
C.Bill Gates and his wife. D.Bill Gates and Steve Balmer.
53.What’s Charlene Li’s attitude towards Bill Gates’ departure?
A.Optimistic. B.Worried. C.Critical. D.Neutral.
54.The underlined sentence “He will be succeeded in his post by Steve Balmer.” means Steve Balmer will.
A.be as successful as Bill Gates
B.fill the gap Bill Gates leaves in the firm
C.start a computer revolution with the help of Bill Gates
D.take over after Bill Gates steps down
E
Windows not only let light in to cut down an electricity use for lighting, but the light coming through the window also provides heat. However, windows are not something people typically associate with being a cutting edge technology. Researchers are now working on new technologies that enable a window to quickly change from clear to dark and anywhere in between with a turn of a switch.
“It took us a long time to figure out what a window really is,” says Claes Granqvist, a professor of solid—state physics at Uppsala University in Sweden.“It’s contact with the outside world. You have to have visual contact with the surrounding world to feel well.” So, windows and natural light are important for improving the way people feel when they’re stuck indoors.
Yet, windows are the weak link in a building when it comes to energy and temperature control. In the winter, cold air leaks in. When it’s hot and sunny, sunlight streams in. All of this sunlight carries lots of heat and energy. And all of this extra heat forces people to turn on their air conditioners. Producing cold air, which can feel so refreshing, actually suck up enormous amounts of electricity in buildings around the world.
Windows have been a major focus of energy research for a long time. Over the years, scientists have come up with a variety of strategies for coating, glazing, and layering windows to make them more energy efficient. Smart windows go a step further. They use some technologies involving changes of color.
Electrochromic windows use electricity to change color. For example, a sheet of glass coated with thin layers(层) of tungsten oxide(氧化钨) works a bit like a battery. Tungsten oxide is clear when an electric charge is applied and dark when the charge is removed, that is, when the amount of voltage(电压) is decreased, the window darkens until it’s completely dark after all electricity is taken away. So applying a voltage determines whether the window looks clear or dark.
One important feature that makes a smart window so smart is that it has a sort of “memory”. All it takes is a small shock of voltage to turn the window from one state to the other. Then, it stays that way. Transitions take from 10 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the size of the window. The development of smart windows could mean that massive air conditioning systems may no longer need.“In the future,” Granqvist says,“our buildings may look different.”
67.Which statement does not indicate the importance of windows as described in the first two paragraphs?
A.Windows can change from clear to dark to save energy.
B.Windows help to save energy by letting light in.
C.Windows help to save energy by providing heat.
D.Windows enable people to have contact with the outside world.
68.According to the passage, smart windows are windows_______.
A.that are coated B.that use electricity
C.the color of which can be changedD.that have many layers
69.To make electrochromic windows change color, what is applied to the window glass?
A.Electricity. B.Tungsten oxide. C.A battery. D.A voltage.
70.What will be the benefit if the research on smart windows turns out to be successful?
A.The buildings will look different.
B.Windows can be as large as you want.
C.We may not need air conditioners any more.
D.They are less expensive than traditional windows.
D
Time spent in a bookshop can be most enjoyable, whether you are a book—lover or merely go there to buy a book as a present. You may even have entered the shop just to find shelter from a sudden shower. Whatever the reason, you can soon become totally unaware of your surroundings.
The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust jacket is irresistible, although this method of selection ought not to be followed, as you might end up with a rather dull book.
You soon become interested in some book or other, and usually it is only much later that you realize you have spent far too much time there and must dash off to keep some forgotten appointment—without buying a book, of course.
This opportunity to escape the realities of everyday life is, I think, the main attraction of a bookshop. There are not many places where it is possible to do this. A music shop is very much like a bookshop. You can wander round such places to your heart’s content. If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the inevitable greeting:“Can I help you, sir?” You needn’t buy anything you don’t want. In a bookshop an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished browsing. Then, and only then, are his services necessary. Of course, you may want to find out where a particular section is, but when he has led you there, the assistant should retire discreetly(谨慎地) and look as if he is not interested in selling a single book.
You have to be careful not to be attracted by the variety of books in a bookshop. It is very easy to enter the shop looking for a book on, say ancient coins and to come out carrying a copy of the latest best-selling novel and perhaps a book about brass—rubbing—something which had only slightly interested you up till then. This volume on the subject, however, happened to be so well illustrated and the part of the text you read proved so interesting that you just had to buy it. This sort of thing can be very dangerous. Apart from running up a huge account, you can waste a great deal of time wandering from section to section.
63.The underlined phrase “dust jacket” means_______.
A.a kind of clothesB.a paper cover of a book
C.a dusty book D.a title of a book
64.You may spend too much time in a bookshop because_______.
A.the dust jackets are very attractive
B.you start reading one of the books
C.it is raining outside
D.you have to make sure you won’t buy a dull book as a present
65.In a good bookshop_______.
A.all the books there are interestingB.the assistant greets you in a warm way
C.your heart is satisfiedD.you feel that you are in a music shop
66.The best title for this passage may be_______.
A.The Attraction of Bookshops B.How to Spend Your Time
C.Bookshops and Their AssistantsD.How to Select Books
C
Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity appears to spread through social ties, much like a virus. When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow. But the findings might also offer hope.
If friends help make obesity acceptable, then they might also be influential in losing the fat. The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced problems, like alcoholism.
The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers used information collected from? 12 000 people. It was collected between 1971 and 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study.
The information was highly detailed. There was even contact information for close friends of the people in the study.
The researchers examined more than 40 000 social ties. They found that a person’s chances of becoming severely overweight increased by 57% if a friend had become obese.
A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40% increased chance of becoming obese. The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that.
Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead investigator in the study. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend.
The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence. In same—sex friendships, a person had a 71% increased risk of becoming obese. Men had a 44% increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in a brother. In sisters, it was 67%.
The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in relation to each other. James Fowler of the University of California,San Diego, was the other lead investigator. He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people’s health is tied to their social connections.
Both investigators say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but a public health problem.
59.What does the underlined sentence in Para. 2 mean?
A.Obesity has a negative influence on a close friend.
B.Friends might also play a part in losing weight.
C.One might have a positive influence on one’s friend.
D.Friends usually don’t follow each other to lose weight.
60.Who is mostly likely to gain weight?
A.A man who has a fat brother. B.A husband who has a fat wife.
C.A wife who has a fat husband. D.A woman who a fat female friend.
61.Which of the following statements doesn’t the passage agree with?
A.You are sure to lose weight if you have a skinny friend.
B.If one gains weight, one’s friends are likely to get fat.
C.A person’s health is closely linked with his/her social relationship.
D.Even if the friend lives far away, the influence still remains.
62.The reason why the study involves both family members and friends is that_______
A.researchers fail to find a more different sample
B.researchers have different ideas for family members and friends
C.researchers can meet these people regularly
D.researchers can compare the results
B
The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to represent all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on Earth.
An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if, in his words,“the worst came to the worst.” Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above zero degrees Celsius. The seeds will be protected behind concrete walls a meter thick and high—security doors.
The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will come from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present all the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below zero Celsius. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.
Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s most secure gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason. Norway first proposed the idea in the 1980s. But security concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was permitted use of Spitsbergen. New Scientist says the plan won United Nations approval in October at a meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
55.The project is meant to_______.
A.increase the world’s food production in the future
B.carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes
C.protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters
D.build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds
56.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?
A.The government of Norway will perform the project alone.
B.Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousand years ago.
C.Spitsbergen is chosen because it is away from the threat of unclear war forever.
D.Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place.
57.We can infer from the text that_______.
A.People will get newlydeveloped seeds from the center every year
B.The storage center will greatly promote the development of world agriculture
C.Norway meant to have built the storage centre more than 20 years ago
D.There haven’t been any seed storage centers in the world before
58.What is probably the best title of the passage?
A.Noah’s Ark(诺亚方舟) of Plant Seeds in Plan. B.The Best Place to Store Seeds.
C.Concerns of World Food Supply. D.A New Way to Feed the World.