Have you got a Facebook account? Are you thinking of getting one? Jamie Simmonds has just signed up. Let’s see how she’s getting along.
As from June 2012, Facebook had over 955 million active users. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. Facebook is translated into more than 70 different languages. The world spends 700 billion minutes a month on Facebook. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page says he’s a Harvard graduate, even though he actually dropped out to focus on Facebook. The site is valued at between $7.9 and $11 billion.Which of the following is conveyed in this passage?
| A．Visiting Facebook website took up a large part of Jamie’s time and energy. |
| B．Jamie is enthusiastic about her present job. |
| C．Facebbook was created by a Harvard graduate, Mark Zuckerberg. |
| D．Compared with Facebook, Twitter is a better choice for Jamie. |
Why did Jamie’s boyfriend ask her whether she had broken up with him?
| A．He had seen photos of Jamie dancing on the table. |
| B．She showed in her Facebook that she was still not dating anyone. |
| C．Her boyfriend was angry that she refused to add him as her friend. |
| D．He saw the name of her ex-boyfriend on his news feed. |
What does the word “un-friend” mean in the underlined sentence “Someone’s un-friended me!”?
| A．Be unfriendly to others |
| B．Remove a name from friend list |
| C．Have a quarrel with somebody |
| D．End friendship with somebody |
People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed. It’s not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of question. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from each other, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The argument is often conveniently referred to as nature vs. nurture.
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined(注定)to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts(本能).
Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. Behaviorists see humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. Their view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli (something that helps sb./ sth. to develop better and more quickly)as the basis of their behavior.
The social and political connections of these two theories are significant. In the United States, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligent test. This leads some “nature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically worse than whites. Behaviorists, in contrast, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result ,they do not develop the same responses that whites do.
Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the argument will continue for a long time is certain.The author is mainly concerned about solving the problem.
| A．why our personalities and behaviors differ |
| B．what makes different stages of intelligence |
| C．how social scientists form different theories |
| D．what causes the “nature/ nurture” argument |
The underlined word “proponents” can best be replaced by.
| A．approaches | B．advocates |
| C．principles | D．characters |
Which of the following statements may be supported by the “nature” school?
| A．We are born with certain personalities and behaviors. |
| B．Environment has nothing to do with our personalities. |
| C．Abilities and characteristics are showed by behaviors. |
| D．Only extreme behaviors are determined by instincts. |
What can we learn about the behaviorists?
| A．They believe human beings are mechanical. |
| B．They compare our behaviors to the machines. |
| C．They suggest that we react to the environment as the machines do. |
| D．They agree that the mechanistic theory can be applied on us as well. |
People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality-the driverless car. ” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the U. S. government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are' making Hondas safer, said Angie Nucci of Honda America. “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes. ” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers , but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident, ”Kendall said. He said , “Consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first. ”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.According to the passage, California Governor Jerry Brown ______________.
| A．is for the idea of having driverless cars |
| B．sponsored the DARPA competition to improve the driverless system |
| C．has already bought a new autonomous car |
| D．thinks that driving safety is the most important issue in his state |
What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．They can help cars run much faster. |
| B．They can take the place of drivers now. |
| C．They can make cars run without fuel. |
| D．They can help people drive more safely. |
In Kendall’s opinion, who probably don’t rely on the driverless cars at first?
| A．managers in the high-tech company Google |
| B．officers from the U. S. government agency DARPA |
| C．car consumers |
| D．vehicle designers |
According to Richard Mason, what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?
| A．They need to have more comfortable seats . |
| B．They are now too expensive for consumers. |
| C．They are travelling at a low speed. |
| D．They are not favored by car racers |
A planned visit to Trinidad and Tobagosometime ago by a former American president, suddenly took an amazing turn form the initial plan. The presidential aircraft could not land in Trinidad and Tobago. It was reported that the runway of the airport was too short. Therefore, the aircraft had to land in a nearby country and they came into the country by road.
Everyone has a runway by which events enter into his life. The events here could be favors, miracle, connections, job opportunities, etc. The size of your runway determines the level of results that will be attracted into your life.
I have a story of two good friends. They finished high school together. One wanted to further his studies while the other decided to look for a job. As time went on, the one that wanted to work was always there to support the other one especially in the area of fees in school for a long time. As destiny would have it, they both lost contact and after a very long time, they met again but on a very different level. The one that added values to himself by going back to school had stepped up greatly to become the general manager of a big company and the other was just a little lifted. So, it was time to pay back. The one of general manager could only support him financially and make him the chief driving officer in the company. Even though he would have loved to give him a higher post he was not qualified especially in terms of skills, orientation , experience and so on. In other words, his runway was too short for such an opportunity.
Everyone must increase in knowledge and training . You must step up in your education level, human, business and communication skills. Your relationship with people must improve by being a good person. Your runway is enlarged anytime you add values to your life.
There are some jobs, opportunities, favor that cannot protect base in your life. They will have to be coming from other people into your life because you have failed to work on your own runway by improving on your abilities. It is not too late or too early to start in life because every stage in life is a good place to begin. In the first paragraph, the president had to change his plan because _________________.
| A．the weather condition was bad for their journey |
| B．they couldn’t go into that country by their plane |
| C．they wanted to visit the neighboring country temporarily |
| D．the president had to deal with something back in his country |
The two friends had different final results because __________________________
| A．they had different life goals |
| B．one always wanted to beat the other |
| C．they had different education levels |
| D．they wanted to show their different success |
What is stressed in the last paragraph?
| A．The key to success. |
| B．The need of others’ help |
| C．The trouble from failure |
| D．The real meaning of life |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Kindness Makes a Big Different |
| B．Depend on Youself |
| C．Competition Exists Everywhere |
| D．Always Improve on Yourself |
A Notice of Delnor Hospital (the “Hospital”)
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED ( 透露 )
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact:
The ASIFlex Privacy Office
PO BOX 6044
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We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting your medical information. We create a record of the care and services you receive at the Hospital. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply （遵从）with certain legal requirements.
This notice explains the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligation(义务 ) we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose your medical information. Not every use or disclosure in every category is listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment. We may use your medical information to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose your medical information to doctors, nurses and technicians. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietician if you have diabetes so that we may arrange appropriate meals. Different departments within the Hospital also may share your medical information.
For Payment. We may use and disclose your medical information so that the treatment and services you receive at the Hospital may be billed and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. We also may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose your medical information for the Hospital operations purposes. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the Hospital and to make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. We also may combine your medical information with those of many Hospital patients to determine whether additional services should be offered, what services are no longer needed and whether certain new treatments are effective.From the notice, we can learn _______may read your medical information.
| A．doctors | B．nurses |
| C．dietician | D．all above |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the notice?
| A．The patient will be told how soon he can recover after an operation |
| B．The Hospital creates a record of the care and services. |
| C．The patient can be told his health plan about a treatment |
| D．The Hospital can arrange appropriate meals for patients. |
What can be inferred from the notice?
| A．Patients couldn’t be informed of his medical information |
| B．All persons in the Hospital know patients’ information |
| C．Patients in the Hospital could receive proper care and treatment |
| D．The Hospital could never combine your medical information with those of many Hospital patients. |
Most children have heard their parents at one time or another yell “sit up straight!” or “don’t slouch!” In the past, this was usually heard at the dinner table as children ate dinner. But these days, it is also heard around another activity – video games.
Ten-year old Owaish Batliwala, from Mumbai, India, admits he spends three to four hours each day playing games on his tablet computer. His mother Mehzabin became concerned when her son started saying that his neck hurt. She said, "My son started having neck problems around June or July. The pain slowly spread to his hand and his back. He plays for hours on the iPad and mobile phone. This is what has caused the problem."
Sadia Vanjara is a physical therapist. She says the number of young children with chronic pain in their necks, arms and shoulders is on the rise. Dr. Vanjara says the pain is not from aging, accidents or disease. It is from poor posture, or body position, while playing video games.
This is a problem in many parts of the world. But there are more smartphone users in India than anywhere else in the world, except China. Networking equipment company Cisco estimates that the number of smartphone users in India will increase from 140 million today to 651 million by 2020.
19-year old student Nida Jameel says she feels pain in the finger which holds the weight of her smartphone most of the day. She says she uses her smartphone 24/7. This means 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or all the time.
Dr. Vanjara says the best treatments for the pain are daily exercises. Experts advise taking breaks from using a computer or other device often. Stand up. Stretch your legs, back, shoulders and arms. And when your work or school work is done, unplug and exercise. What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Too Much Gaming is a Pain in the Neck |
| B．The Influence of Too Much Gaming on People’s Health |
| C．How To Avoid the Pain in the Neck |
| D．How To Be More Fit |
In paragraph 1, the underlined word “slouch” means _____
| A．stopping working |
| B．bending one’s head or shoulders forward |
| C．being much too calm about something |
| D．being enthusiastic about the things that are not related with study |
In which part of a website can we read the passage?
| A．School and Education | B．Entertainment |
| C．Health and Lifestyle | D．Food and Recipes |