Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen—the 21st century equivalent(equal) of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries (dividing line) are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread pieces you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no.”
When opinion polls (民意测验) ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming (very large) pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve (protect) their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessanfro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health: when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it.
63.What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
A. Friends should open their hearts to each other.
B. Friends should always be faithful to each other.
C. There should be a distance even between friends.
D. There should be fewer disputes between friends.
64.Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret” (Line 4—5, Para, 3)?
A. Modern society has finally developed into an open society.
B. People leave traces around when using modern technology.
C. There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs.
D. Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities.
65.What do most Americans do about privacy protection?
A. They change behaviors that might disclose their identity.
B. They use various loyalty cards for business deals.
C. They rely more and more on electronic devices.
D. They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it.
66.According to the passage, privacy is like health because ________.
A. people will make every effort to keep it
B. its importance is rarely understood
C. it is something that can easily be lost
D. people don’t cherish it until they lose it
Why do some people flush when they drink alcohol? This effect is a common reaction to alcohol among East Asians. It affects about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.
For many, even a small amount of alcohol can cause unpleasant effects. Most commonly, their face, neck and sometimes their whole body turn red. People might also feel uncomfortable and sick to their stomach. They might experience a burning sensation, increased heart rate, shortness of breath and headaches.
The cause is a genetic difference that they are born with called an ALDH2 deficiency (缺乏). It prevents their bodies from treating alcohol the way other people do. But the effects might be more serious than just a red face. Researchers warn of a link between this condition and an increased risk of cancer of the esophagus (食道) from drinking alcohol.
The more alcohol people with this deficiency drink, the greater their risk is. In Japan and South Korea, for example, many people have the deficiency but still drink heavily. Researchers found that these drinkers develop a form of esophageal cancer six to ten times more often than those without the deficiency.
Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. It can be treated when found early, but once it grows the chances of survival drop sharply. The researchers estimate that at least five hundred forty million people have the deficiency, about eight percent of the world’s population.
Philip Brooks is a researcher at the National Institute in the United States. He says it is important to educate people about the link between the alcohol flushing effect and esophageal cancer. He says doctors should ask East Asian patients about their experiences with facial flushing after drinking alcohol. Those with a history of it should be advised to limit their alcohol use. They should also be warned that cigarette smoking works with the alcohol in a way that further increased the risk of esophageal cancer.The underlined word “flush” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.
A.walk unsteadily |
B. appear unpleasant |
C.turn red in the face |
D.talk more than usual |
The second paragraph is mainly about _________.
A.the cause of the effects of alcohol |
B.unpleasant effects caused by alcohol |
C.the advantages of drinking alcohol |
D.Asians and alcohol |
We can infer from the passage that _________.
A.the ALDH2 deficiency may be passed on from generation to generation |
B.about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans are heavy drinkers |
C.unpleasant effects occur only when people with this deficiency drink a lot |
D.only some East Asians have the ALDH2 deficiency |
Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers because __________.
A.it can’t be treated at all |
B.people are usually addicted to alcohol |
C.it is hard to be discovered early |
D.it is hard to cure once it has developed |
According to Philip Brooks, __________.
A.giving up drinking can avoid esophageal cancer |
B.smoking is much more dangerous than drinking |
C.people should be educated on esophageal cancer |
D.doctors should advise patients to give up drinking |
The young policeman, Constable Rider, walked more quickly than usual, because of the cold, but he did not consciously (有意识地) neglect any part of his work. His torch flashed on doorways and windows as he looked for anything that was at all suspicious, and when he ever thought that anything was unusual, he went to try the door and window, probably unheard by the people sleeping in the room just above his head. As he turned a corner, he heard a slight rustling sound — it might be a cat, it could even be a dog, although few dogs wandered about at night. Rider saw nothing.
A cat then? Usually if you disturbed a cat, it ran off and jumped, and you heard or noticed something else. By doing a lot of night, you learned to notice these things, but now all Rider noticed was the silence which had followed the rustling sound. So he acted cautiously. He did not flash his torch about the houses near the corner but walked on, and, a little way from the spot where he heard the sound, stopped and bent his head, as if he was lighting a cigarette. A policeman who stopped to light a cigarette seemed the most unsuspicious policeman in the world.
There was still no sound. There were bushes in the garden of the house where Rider had first heard it and he knew that a man could hide there out of sight. But if he went back, it would warn any such man. So instead he stood and shone his torch at the window nearest him, and as if he had noticed something unusual, he walked towards it and opened the wooden gate, which made no sound at all. He reached the entrance and shone the torch on the keyhole of the front door — and as he did so, the rustle came again, this time much more softly. He looked round quickly.What was Constable Rider doing on this very cold evening?
A.Looking for anything out of the ordinary. |
B.Looking for something that had been lost. |
C.Being careful not to disturb people. |
D.Being careless in carrying out his duties. |
When he heard the rustling sound, he _______.
A.thought that it was probably not caused by a dog |
B.knew that he had disturbed a cat |
C.knew not to take any notice of such a noise |
D.realized that he had turned a corner |
As he then heard no more sounds, Rider decided _______.
A.that he had been mistaken, and walked on |
B.that he might as well have a cigarette |
C.to flash his torch on a window near the corner |
D.not to show that he had noticed anything |
Why did Constable Rider not to right back to the house on the corner?
A.He had seen a man hiding there. |
B.He didn’t want to use his torch. |
C.It would show that he had noticed something. |
D.There was still no sound from the garden. |
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
A.She was born a slave |
B.She was a slaveholder |
C.She had a famous sister |
D.She was born into a rich family |
Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?
A.She found an employer |
B.She wanted to be a lawyer |
C.She was hit and got angry |
D.She had to take care of her sister |
What did Mumbet do after the trial?
A.She chose to work for a lawyer |
B.She found the NAACP |
C.She continued to serve the Ashleys |
D.She went to live with her grandchildren |
What is the test mainly about?
A.A story of a famous writer and spokesperson |
B.The friendship between a lawyer and a slave |
C.The life of a brave African American woman |
D.A trial that shocked the whole world |
One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son’s school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains, retching(干呕)into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.
What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly-competitive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day cause no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is nightmare(噩梦). Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disease.
Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it’s taking part, not winning, that’s important; or that’s a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting — and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone’s eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.Sports day is still an annul event in this school probably because __________.
A.this is an independent school |
B.it is a tradition of the school |
C.it helps children lose weight |
D.children enjoy watching sports |
What does the author think about team games?
A.They should include more stressful races. |
B.They are acceptable to different children. |
C.They should be abandoned at primary school. |
D.They are less fun for those who love running. |
What is the author’s attitude towards sports day?
A.Critical. | B.Neutral. |
C.Positive. | D.Ambiguous. |
It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收费站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”
It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.
Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.
Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.
“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”
The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?
A.She knew the car drivers well. |
B.She wanted to show kindness. |
C.She hoped to please others. |
D.She had seven tickets. |
Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she_________.
A.thought it was beautifully written |
B.wanted to know what it really meant |
C.decided to write it on a warehouse wall |
D.wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom |
Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlinedsentence above?
A.Kindness and violence can change the world. |
B.Kindness and violence can affect one’s behavior. |
C.Kindness and violence can reproduce themselves. |
D.Kindness and violence can shape one’s character. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.People should practice random kindness to those in need. |
B.People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others. |
C.People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet. |
D.People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver. |