Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the website you’ve visited or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping calling habits
In fact, it’s likely that 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.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself partly to friends, family and lovers at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to know 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 ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. 60 percent of respondents say they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me”.
But people say one thing and do another. Only a small number of Americans change any behavior in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. Privacy economist Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will give up personal information like social security numbers just to get their hands on a 50-cents-off coupon. 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.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 arguments between friends. |
Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret”?
| 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. |
According to the passage, privacy is like health in that _____.
| A．people will make every effort to keep it |
| B．its importance is hardly understood |
| C．It is something that can easily be lost |
| D．people don’t value it until they lose it |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Value your health. |
| B．Treasure your privacy. |
| C．Boundaries are important between friends. |
| D．The information age has its own shortcomings. |
Water runs downhill from mountaintops to streams to rivers to oceans. But downhill isn’t the only way that water moves .A new study measures how water travels from country to country for human consumption. This flow isn’t the type we usually think about .These scientists looked at the water used to grow and make the products which get shipped from nation to nation as imports or exports. They call this a flow of“virtual water（虚拟水）”.
We typically think about water as the liquid that flows from a tap. However,92％of the water used by people goes into growing crops，according to water researcher Arjen Hoekstra. He recently studied the hidden travels of virtual water used in products made from things like crops and meats .These products are shipped around the world.
For example．consider a sugary soft drink. Hoekstra estimated that to produce one half-liter of the drink requires between 170 and 310litersofthewater—about 95％—is used to grow and process the ingredients(原料).Another 4％goes into the packaging and labeling. In Hoekstra’s calculation, when one country produces a half-liter of soda and sells it abroad，it exports as much virtual water as would fill a large refrigerator．
According to Hoekstra’s new report，dry countries like Israel and Kuwait，both in the Middle East, get the majority of their virtual water from other countries，through imported products. More surprisingly, some wetter countries，like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, also get the majority of their virtual water from other places. That means that most of the water used to grow or produce the products and food consumed in those countries came from other countries.
In the United States most of the virtual water used comes from American sources .In China even less of the water associated with its productsWhat is the best title for the passage?
| A．Crops and Virtual Water | B．Import and Export of Water |
| C．Benefits of Virtual Water | D．Water’s worldwide travels |
The first paragraph is intended to talk about__________.
| A．how water flows |
| B．what virtual water is |
| C．where virtual water exists |
| D．why water is imported and exported |
The example of a sugary soft drink in Paragraph 3 is given to show_________.
| A．how drinks are made |
| B．how virtual water is used |
| C．how virtual water is exported |
| D．how drinks are shipped |
In which countries does most part of virtual water come from outside?
| A．lsrael and America |
| B．America and the Netherlands |
| C．China and the United Kingdom |
| D．Kuwait and the Netherlands |
The passage is most probably a_________.
| A．science news report | B．book review |
| C．newspaper advertisement | D．science fiction story |
Global warming happens when greenhouse gases trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot. This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows，but it can’t get back out. This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth .The heat and light can get through the atmosphere, but it can’t get out As a result，the temperature rises.
Sometimes the temperature can change in a way that helps us. The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people to live on Without it，the earth would be freezing，or it would be burning hot. It would be freezing at night because we would not get the sun’s heat and light .During the day, especially during the summer, it would be burning because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter(过滤)it，so people，plants，and animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.
Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it，if there gets to be too many gases，the each can get unusually warmer, and many plants，animals．and people will die. Plants would die because they would not be able to take the heat .This would cause us to have less food to eat, and it would also limit the food that animals have. With less food for the animals that we need to survive we would even have less food. Gradually, people，plants，and animals would all die of hunger．
People are doing many things to try to stop global warming .One thing is carpooling—driving with someone to a place that you are both going to. Another thing is being more careful about leaving electrical devices turned on. Now, more people are even riding buses or bikes to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the air .Although adults do many things to help stop global warming, kids call do just as much.By the example given in Paragraph l, the author wants to__________.
| A．explain how global warming happens |
| B．show his feeling in a car in hot summer |
| C．tell us cars are causes of greenhouse gases |
| D．say that I there are greenhouse gases in every car |
The underlined word ‘it” in Paragraph 2 refers to__________.
| A．light | B．greenhouse effect | C．temperature | D．heat |
What is the effect of atmosphere?
| A．IT only traps the heat of the sun. |
| B．It does great harm to humans. |
| C．It makes the earth neither to hot nor too cold. |
| D．It prevents all the light from the sun shining on the earth. |
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
| A．lf there is greenhouse effect．all the plants will die |
| B．Human beings are likely to disappear from the earth |
| C．Crops can’t take in the heat lf there is greenhouse effect |
| D．Although greenhouse effect is necessary．Too much of it will cause us to die. |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．What kids can do to help stop global warming. |
| B．Who should be responsible for the environmental problems. |
| C．What global warming is doing to the environment. |
| D．Why cars and buses pollute the air a lot |
Ashok Gadgil has spent the past three decades helping people in need—and he has no plans to stop .On May 2, Gadgil won the$100．000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation. Each year，the honor is given to an inventor who has improved the lives of people in developing countries. Gadgil‘s inventions have helped more than 100 million people around the world.
Gadgil is a professor and physicist at the University of California. When he’s not teaching，he works to find solutions to global problems such as energy efficiency and water safety. “I chose to focus on problems where my knowledge of science could help，”he said
In the 1980s he came up with a program to make energy-efficient light bulbs more affordable for people in developing countries. Then in the 1990s，Gadgil designed his first life—saving invention，UV Waterworks .The device kills deadly disease —carrying germs(病菌)from drinking water. It costs just one cent to clean five liters of water .Gadgil was inspired to find an inexpensive solution to the clean water crisis after more than 10，000 people in his home country of India died from an outbreak of Bengal cholera，in 1993 The disease is spread through contaminated food and drinking water .So far，the invention has provided safe drinking water to more than five million people in poor areas.
As a professor，Gadgil encourages his students to stay positive about finding solutions to hard problems.“Be optimistic when you try a hard problem．”he says. “It’s when you solve a large problem that you can have a big impact on the world”Gadgil was given Lemelson-MIT Award for___________.
| A．his teaching experience | B．his new physical research |
| C．his vast knowledge | D．his helpful inventions |
What call we learn about UV Waterworks?
| A．It's Gadgil’s first invention |
| B．It’s used to clean water． |
| C．it was designed for his home country |
| D．It saved 10，000 people in total |
The underlined word “contamninated”in Paragraph 3 means__________.
| A．wasted | B．consumed | C．polluted | D．canned |
According to the last paragraph，Gadgil encourages his students__________.
| A．to learn lessons from failures |
| B．to find problems in peaceful life |
| C．to make inventions to help poor people |
| D．to be confident when facing difficulties |
Which of the following can best describe Gadgil?
| A．Caring and optimistic. | B．Independent and positive. |
| C．Powerful and strict. | D．Responsible and sensitive. |
If you're like a lot of married guys, you don't need to be reminded about men being from Mars or women from Venus. Chances are that you're all too familiar with the feeling that you and your wife are from different worlds. When married people start noticing their fundamental differences, it can lead to a breakdown in communication. The way to have a successful marriage is through communication, common ground and understanding. Here are some pointers to guide you in the right direction.
Rather than ending up in an endless back and forth, forget about the issue for a minute. Instead, think about how you feel she's acting toward you and ask her if that's how she feels about you. If you think she's being unfair, ask her if she thinks you're being unfair. Switching the focus to that shared feeling can help your wife see things from your point of view.
It's important to accept the fact that there's a two-way street between you and your wife. If you think she doesn't make enough of an effort to see things from your point of view, you have to ask yourself if you're making an effort to see it her way.
Realize nobody can wave a magic wand to make you and your wife completely understand each other all the time. Many couples have an extremely close friendship and do almost everything together before they're married. Once you've tied the knot, you may begin to notice that you're not as alike as you once thought.
It seems obvious, but some guys get fooled into thinking their wife will be as excited about all of their interests and hobbies as they are. Don't be surprised when you find out that she's not just like "one of the guys." Sooner or later you'll realize that she might be going along with some of your interests just to make you happy.
Rather than feel offended if you find out she's not as into your favorite hobby as you thought, appreciate the effort she put into making you happy. Swallow your pride and try to take part in some of her hobbies, too, even if you might be a little put off at first. While you're not going to be trying on makeup with her, you could try baking a recipe together.
If either of you is always giving everything and getting nothing in return, there's going to be bitterness. The best marriages are built on compromise. You knew you were going to have to give and take for your marriage to work; now it's time to make it happen.What is the best title of the text?
| A．How to manage your marriage. |
| B．How to make a good husband |
| C．How to make a good wife. |
| D．How to get her to speak your language. |
The best subtitle of the 6th paragraph is ________.
| A．Swallow your pride (at least sometimes) |
| B．Find out her hobbies |
| C．Don’t get offended |
| D．Try to make up |
Which of the following is not good for keeping a successful marriage?
| A．Focus on the feeling to get past the disagreement. |
| B．Don't play the blame game. |
| C．She won't always understand you (but that's OK). |
| D．Try to understand each other all the way. |
According to the last paragraph, it’s important for the husband and wife to__________.
| A．forgive and forget |
| B．give and take |
| C．live and let live |
| D．get everything and return nothing |
The underlined phrase in the 6th paragraph probably mean________.
| A．delay sth | B．arrange sth | C．dislike sth | D．worsen sth |
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five.
The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.What is the best title of the passage?
| A．The older a person is, the happier he grows. |
| B．The more lighthearted a person is, the happier he is. |
| C．The older a person is, the more clever he grows. |
| D．The older a person is, the more stressed he feels. |
We can learn from the research that _________.
| A．only when people get older, will they feel happier |
| B．older people usually have no worries in their life |
| C．older people are more likely to be thankful in life |
| D．stress levels among the youngest are the highest of all |
According to the researchers, what is probably the reason why people grow happier when they get older?
| A．When people get older, they can’t remember bad experiences. |
| B．When people get older, they have no young children to care about. |
| C．When people get older, they don’t care about their feelings. |
| D．When people get older, they learn to adjust their feelings. |
What would the writer probably deal with in next paragraph?
| A．Advice to the young people on how to keep happy. |
| B．Why women at all ages are more sad, stressed and worried. |
| C．Advice to the old people on how to live longer. |
| D．Why people will grow happier with their ages. |
What do you think the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is?
| A．A Gallup organization. | B．A university in New York. |
| C．A popular science magazine. | D．A research institution |