IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU
Many people think there is no need to take special care over home security.
“I’m all right, I’m insured (保险)”
Maybe—if you’re fully insured. Even then you can never recover the real value you place on your possessions. But you can’t insure against the upset and unhappiness that we all feel if our homes are torn apart by some stranger, our windows and doors broken, our precious possessions ruined.
“It won’t happen to me”
Won’t it? A home is broken into every minute or so of the day. The thefts of all kinds, including cars and property stolen from cars, happen twice as frequently.
“I’ve nothing worth stealing”
You may think not. But in fact everyone has something worth a thief’s attention. And we all have things of special value to us even if they’re worth little or nothing in cash terms.
“I’m just a tenant (房客) here”
The thief doesn’t care whether you’re a tenant or an owner-occupier. You’re just as likely to be robbed. Have a word with the owner of the house if you think extra locks and fastenings are necessary.
“They’ll get in anyway”
Most thieves are on the lookout for easy jobs. They are soon discouraged by houses they can’t get into in any quick and easy way. So it’s worth taking care.
“This booklet will help you”
It’s based on the practical experience of police forces throughout the country. Most of the suggestions will cost you only a few minutes extra time and thought. A few may involve some expense, but this is small compared with the loss and unhappiness you might otherwise suffer.
If you are in doubt, ask for free advice from the Crillle Prevention Officer at your local police station.Why do you still need to protect your possessions when you’ve already insured them?
| A．You tend to undervalue your possessions. |
| B．You cannot insure against damage to property. |
| C．A robbery can affect your moods at home. |
| D．It takes a long time to recover your belongings. |
What should a tenant do if he is worried about the security of his home?
| A．Fix new locks on all the doors. |
| B．Discuss the matter with the owner. |
| C．Check it up with the police. |
| D．Keep careful watch of the house. |
The advertisement says that most thieves ______.
| A．prefer stealing from offices |
| B．like causing a lot of damage |
| C．break into any places they desire |
| D．get prevented by perfect guard equipment |
This advertisement aims to influence people who ______.
| A．have little sense of security |
| B．are not properly insured |
| C．are worried about home security |
| D．have their houses broken into |
“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable（便携式的）computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.
The program allows users to display alerts（警报）on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.
Owners must report their laptop missing by visiting to a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” sign appears on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version(版本) of the software, users can also send a spoken message.
The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it. “One customer sent a message saying, ‘You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive (主管) of the company which produces the program, Retriever.
In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. For example, the laptop’s speakers will say: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.”
The Retriever software package(软件包), which costs $29.95 (￡21) but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs. Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.
If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.
Thousands of laptops are stolen every year from homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.
Other security software allows users to erase（删除）data remotely or lock down the computer.The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind” can be understood as “_______”.
| A．to give the thief an alert mind |
| B．to express the owners’ anger to the thief |
| C．to remind the thief of his conscience |
| D．to make the thief give up his mind |
Different from other security software, Retriever can ______.
| A．record the stealing process |
| B．help recognize the lost laptop |
| C．lock down the computer remotely |
| D．send a spoken message |
One function of the program is that it allows the owner to ______ at a distance.
| A．change some access details for switching on the laptop |
| B．turn on the laptop by using the original password |
| C．operate the laptop by means of an alternative password |
| D．erase the information kept in the stolen laptop |
Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?
| A．With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year. |
| B．A new software provides a means to reduce laptop theft. |
| C．Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers. |
| D．A new program offers a communication platform with the thief. |
Attractions in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Historical Museum
30 N.Carroll Street on Madison’s Capitol Square
Discover Wisconsin’s history and culture(文化)on four floors of exhibits.Open for public programs.Admission is free.
Open Tuesday through Saturday,9∶00 am—4∶00 pm.
(608)264-6555 www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum
Swiss Historical Village
612 Seventh Ave.,New Glarus
The Swiss Historical Village offers a delightful look at pioneer life in Ameri-
ca’s heartland.14 buildings in the village give a full picture of everyday life in the nine-teenth-century Midwest.
Tue.—Fri.,May 1st—October 31st,10∶00 am—4∶00 pm.Admission is $20.
(608)527-2317 www.swisshistoricalvillage.com
Artisan Gallery & Creamery Café
6858 Paoli Rd.,Paoli,WI
One of the largest collections of fine arts and crafts(手工艺品) in Wisconsin.Over
5000 sq.ft. of exhibition space in a historic creamery.While visiting enjoy a wonderfully prepared lunch at our café overlooking the Sugar River.Just minutes from Madison!
Gallery open Tue.—Sun.,10∶00 am—5∶00 pm.
Café open Wed.—Sat.,11∶00 am—3∶00 pm.
Sun.brunch with wine,10∶00 am—3∶00 pm.
(608)845-6600 www.artisangal.com
Christopher Columbus Museum
239 Whitney St.,Columbus
World-class exhibit—2 000 quality souvenirs(纪念品) marking Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exhibition.Tour buses are always welcome.
Open daily,8∶15 am—4∶00 pm.
(920)623-1992 www.columbusantiquemall.comWhich of the following is on Capitol Square?
| A．Wisconsin Historical Museum. |
| B．Swiss Historical Village. |
| C．Artisan Gallery & Creamery Café. |
| D．Christopher Columbus Museum. |
Where can you go for a visit on Monday?
| A．Wisconsin Historical Museum. |
| B．Swiss Historical Village. |
| C．Artisan Gallery & Creamery Café. |
| D．Christopher Columbus Museum. |
Where can visitors have lunch?
| A．At Wisconsin Historical Museum. |
| B．At Swiss Historical Village. |
| C．At Artisan Gallery & Creamery Café. |
| D．At Christopher Columbus Museum. |
For many parents , raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming, the goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right, it doesn’t matter what the topic is----politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg ----the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority ---- someone who actually knows something ---- and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
| A．both can continue for generations. |
| B．both are about where to draw the line. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. |
| D．Neither can be put to an end. |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens accuse their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________.
| A．give orders to the other |
| B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other |
| D．get the other to behave properly |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. |
| B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. |
| D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”
George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.
Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.
Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.
“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”George and Richard were ______ at school.
| A．roommates | B．good friends | C．competitors | D．booksellers |
How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?
| A．He envied Richard’s marriage. |
| B．He thought of Richard from time to time. |
| C．He felt lucky with no rival in town. |
| D．He was guilty of Richard’s death. |
George got information about Richard from ______.
| A．a dictionary collector in Australia |
| B．the latter’s rivals Dylans |
| C．a rare first edition of a dictionary |
| D．the wrapping paper of a book |
What happened to George and Richard in the end?
| A．Both George and Richard became millionaires. |
| B．Both of them realized their original ambitions. |
| C．George established a successful business while Richard was missing. |
| D．Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success. |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o’ clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Pauls and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, write about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the mew St Pauls.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The fire began in_________ .
| A．a hotel | B．the palace | C．Pudding Lane | D．Thames Street |
The underlined word “family” in the second paragraph means_________ .
| A．home | B．children | C．wife and husband | D．wife and children |
Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To show that poor people suffered most. |
| D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the path of the fire were destroyed according to the King’s order. |