People believe that climbing can do good to health. Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you are wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms(体育馆). Here, people are learning on special climbing walls. The climbing wall goes straight up and small holding places for hands and feet.
How do people climb the wall? To climb, you need special shoes and a harness(保护带) around your chest to hold you. There are ropes tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you don’t fall. A beginner’s wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes it’s easy to see the next piece of metal. Sometimes, it’s not. The most difficult part is to control your fear. It’s normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it’s difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, the harness and the ropes hold you, and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.
Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb your mind and your body can become stronger.
1. What can we infer from the passage?
A. People are fairly interested in climbing nowadays.
B. It is impossible to build up one’s body by climbing.
C. People can only learn the skill of climbing outdoors.
D. It is always easy to see holding places in climbing.
2. The most difficult thing to do in wall climbing is _________.
A. to tie ropes to your harness B. to control your fear
C. to move away from the wall D. to climb straight up
3. The word “workout” underlined in the last paragraph most probably means _______.
A. settlement B. exercise C. excitement D. tiredness
4. Why does the author write this passage?
A. To tell people where to find gyms. B. To prove the basic need for climbing.
C. To encourage people to climb mountains. D. To introduce the sport of wall climbing.
One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless society” is not on the horizon---it’s already here.
While computer offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how far they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customer for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.
Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers. From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that ___________.
| A．in the future all the Americans will use credit cads |
| B．credit cards are mainly used in the United States today |
| C．nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash |
| D．it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before |
If computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, what will businessmen do?
| A．They will fire some employees and raise the work efficiency. |
| B．They will arrange for different employees to do different jobs according to their abilities and performance. |
| C．They will assign more work for the employees to do. |
| D．They will allow the personnel to do whatever work they want to do. |
What does the underlined phrase “ring up sales” in paragraph two mean?
| A．make an order of goods. |
| B．record sales on a cash register. |
| C．call the sales manager. |
| D．keep track of the goods in stock. |
What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．Approaches to the commercial use of computers. |
| B．Advantages of credit cards in business. |
| C．Significance of automation in commercial enterprises. |
| D．Conveniences brought about by computers in business. |
Researchers recently found that hackers took control of 300,000 home routers(路由器). Once your home router has been controlled, hackers could redirect your network to malicious websites controlled by hi-tech thieves who could then steal your online back details and other sensitive data. However, there are some simple steps you can take to protect your router.
Say no to 12345 passwords
First, never leave your router open without a password and make sure you change both your Wi-Fi and router login password from the default one it comes with. If you use the default password , this could give someone access to the router setup, which could allow them to change your router settings, including viewing any security keys.
Don't broadcast it
Make sure you don't show up in other people's wireless network scans. Know your network name so you can easily enter it into any devices you want to access that network. Other people do not need to know your network name. To prevent outsiders from seeing your network's name and attempting to join your wireless network, turn off broadcasting in your router's settings.
Invite only please
One way you can ensure no one else joins your network without your permission is to enable your router to only allow certain devices to connect, and ban all others. To do that you can filter by media access control (MAC) addresses.
Turn it off
This is a simple piece of advice that can go a very long way in keeping you safe. Simply turn off your router when you're not using your network. If you're at work all day and no one's home, why keep it running?
Build a firewall
The firewall built into your router prevents hackers on the internet from getting access to your PC so it's always worth enabling it to help add an extra layer of security. However, it does nothing to stop people in range of your Wi-Fi signal from getting onto your network – and as said, a router in the wrong place means your Wi-Fi signal could reach pretty far.
For further protection, you should run software firewalls on the individual PCs on your networks. If you use the default password, ______________.
| A．your home router will be linked to some bad websites. |
| B．you will find it’s very convenient to surf the Internet |
| C．your home router will be changed for new settings. |
| D．you will fail to use your own login password |
What should be done to shelter your wireless network?
| A．To build a firewall into your router. |
| B．To think out a complicated login password and use it. |
| C．To shut off your router when you find it not safe. |
| D．To switch off broadcasting in your router settings |
The purpose of the passage is to tell____________.
| A．how to keep your Wi-Fi network secure |
| B．how to deal with your home router efficiently |
| C．how to locate the hackers on the Internet |
| D．how to prevent others from joining your network. |
I never knew how amazing it would feel to help a family 4,560 miles away from my home. I never knew how great an effect I could have on that single family.
From the moment I walked into French class, I knew almost instantly that I belonged there. My teacher, Madame Weiser, is a kind and caring woman, and is the person who started the interest within me to help a family abroad, no matter how many miles apart.
Back in 2011, my teacher traveled as a tourist to Maxi, a country settled in West Africa with a large French-speaking population. She didn’t expect to adopt an entire family, but fate had other plans. Madame met a nice man named Monsieur Diarra, a driver who had shown her the way through the dry lands of Mali.
Mali is now a war-torn country and unsafe for tourists to visit, leaving little work for taxi drivers. Madame Weiser realized how Monsieur Driarra’s family struggled on a daily basis, for he had a wife and four children to support as well as their grandmother, so she made a final decision to send the family as much money as she could raise every month.
Now, three years later, Madame Weiser has still kept up her fund, collecting money from family and friends as well as students to support the cause. It has become more than just my teacher donating to her adopted family abroad.
As president of French Club at my high school and a French Honor Society member, I decided that our club should work to raise money for the family in need. By washing cars, we raised over $1,000.
From my experience, I’ve learned that making an effort is worth more than anything. Its effect is priceless! Why do taxi drivers have difficulty finding work in Mali?
| A．People don’t like taking a taxi. |
| B．Tourists visiting Mali are few. |
| C．Mali is very unsafe for them. |
| D．Public transport is enough. |
What does the underlined expression “the cause” refer to?
| A．Teaching Trench in West Africa. |
| B．Looking for jobs for the drivers in Mali. |
| C．Helping the homeless as much as possible. |
| D．Donating money to the adopted family abroad. |
What did the writer think of her experience?
| A．Boring | B．Puzzling |
| C．Satisfying. | D．Relaxing. |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The Love for Africa. | B． A Kind Foreign Driver. |
| C．My Helpful Teacher | D．My Unforgettable Class |
People are being tricked into Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal data is worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules . That was the great thing about Facebook. You could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things: your city, your photo, your friends’ names ,were set by default (默认)to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience”.
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. In original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them. At the side of the pages totally, who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social networking sites. “I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it’s only the beginning, which is why I’m considering canceling my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t know. That’s too high a price to pay. What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?
| A．It provides loads of information to its users. |
| B．It earns money by putting on advertisements. |
| C．It is a website that sends messages to users who want to get married. |
| D．It makes money by selling its users’ personal data. |
What does the author say about most Facebook users?
| A．They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook. |
| B．They are unwilling to give up their personal information. |
| C．They don’t identify themselves when using the website. |
| D．They care very little about their personal information. |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
| A．To obey the Federal guidelines. |
| B．To expand its business. |
| C．To improve its users’ connection |
| D．To provide better service to its users |
Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
| A．He is dissatisfied with its present service. |
| B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy. |
| C．He doesn’t want his personal data badly used. |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes. |
For history fans, Margaret Thatcher is one of the most interesting of the British Prime Ministers. She is praised by both British and American conservatives for her firm principles and accomplishments of her term.
Being so popular, it is only appropriate that a solid movie be made to detail the life of the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The film Iron Lady focuses on Thatcher (Meryl Streep) and her dementia（痴呆症）, with certain items in her house reminding her of periods of her life, which then start series of flashbacks. Thatcher also fantasies of her husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent), and holds conversations with him throughout the film.
In a world controlled by men and where women are thought to belong to the kitchen, Thatcher struggles to break through the barriers of sex to win a seat in Parliament（国会）. Not only does she struggle with her sex, but being the daughter of a simple shopkeeper, she struggles with class barriers.
After winning a seat in Parliament in 1959, Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science(SES). The film details how the leadership of her party didn’t take her or her opinions seriously. Thatcher became tired of being unheard and decided to challenge the leadership of the party and run for Leader of the Opposition. Not expecting to win the position, she took off in popularity, continuing a strong campaign even after her manager was killed by the Irish Republican Army.
Thatcher, after the conservative party won a majority in Parliament, became the first woman Prime Minister of the UK. She took off in popularity until an economic decline hit the country. She regained popularity after the Falklands War.
The film, in many cases, shows archive footage（资料片）to convey the historic timeline of the movie. The film does an excellent job in recording the complex life of one of Britain’s most complex women. It examines the price that Lady Thatcher paid for power, the class and sex struggles she overcame, and the burden of dementia. The film strikes an astonishingly dear portrait of the “Iron Lady” and will be sure to stand the test of time.According to the passage, the film Iron Lady is mainly about__________.
| A．Margaret Thatcher and her dementia |
| B．Thatcher’s principles and achievements |
| C．the British Prime Ministers’ interests |
| D．Margaret Thatcher and her husband |
When Thatcher worked as Secretary of SES, _________.
| A．her party took her and her opinions seriously |
| B．she tried hard to break through the barriers of sex |
| C．she struggled to break through the class barriers |
| D．she wasn’t respected by the leaders of her party |
This passage is possibly a(n) ___________.
| A．autobiography | B．political report |
| C．film review | D．life story |
What is the author’s attitude towards the film Iron Lady?
| A．Negative | B．Positive | C． Disapproving | D．Casual |