People are being lured (引诱) onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up large amounts of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
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. Early on, you keep everything private. 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. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. 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(议员) 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 is only the beginning, which is why I’m considering deactivating(撤销) 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 is a website that sends messages to targeted users. |
| B．It makes money by putting on advertisements. |
| C．It provides loads of information to its users. |
| D．It profits by selling its users’ personal data. |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
| A．To provide better service to its users. |
| B．To follow the Federal guidelines. |
| C．To improve its users’ connectivity. |
| D．To expand its scope of business. |
What does Senator Charles Schumer advocate?
| A．Setting guidelines for advertising on websites. |
| B．Banning the sharing of users’ personal information. |
| C．Removing ads from all social-networking sites. |
| D．Formulating(制订) regulations for social-networking sites.. |
Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
| A．He is dissatisfied with its current service. |
| B．He doesn’t want his personal data abused. |
| C．He finds many of its users untrustworthy. |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes. |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项多余选项。___
After I had spent a week with my English family, I slowly began to understand their English a little better. _____ Students in my group are from different cities of Britain and their dialects (方言) are different too! Some of their accents are quite strong and they also have their own words and expressions.
____ Before I came to England I had thought that fish and chips were eaten every day. That’s quite wrong! I get rather annoyed now when I hear all the foolish words about typical English food.
I had expected to see “London fog”. Do you remember our texts about it? We had no idea that most of this “thick fog” disappeared many years ago when people stopped using coal in their homes. But the idea to speak about weather was very helpful. ___ On the other hand, habits are different. People tell me what is typical British here in London is not always typical in Wales or Scotland
____
But what is ordinary for all British is that they follow traditions(传统). Probably Britain has more living signs of its past than many other countries. And people have always been proud of having ancient (古老) buildings in capitals, big cities and the countryside.
I will tell you more about Britain in my other letters.
Love from Britain.
Peter
| A．The weather in London is really changeable. |
| B．I have difficulty in understanding my classmates. |
| C．Thanks for your nice letter. |
| D．The family I live with are friendly. |
E. It’s very different from what I learned at school.
F. Local habits and traditions are not the same as what we knew.
G. But it’s not the language that’s different and surprising.
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting（慢节奏的生活） is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”The passage tells us that .
| A．people seldom work long hours to make money |
| B．people hardly buy more things than necessary |
| C．people are sure everything they own is in the right place |
| D．people realize there is more to life than just making money |
When Daniel was a reporter he ___.
| A．lived in central London | B．disliked his job |
| C．missed his children | D．was well paid |
Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ____.
| A．was easy to organize | B．has improved family life |
| C．was extremely expensive | D．has been a total success |
Cyril was a small town. The houses there were all made of wood; almost everything in the houses such as cupboards, tables and chairs were made of wood, too. And all the houses faced south. The town was never peaceful. Fire broke out once a week on summer afternoons. Residents were puzzled who the real firebug(纵火犯) was.
One day a big fire broke out. It was said that a Negro had jumped out of the house on fire, so the police arrested(逮捕) all the Negroes in the street. However, fire never stopped to breaking out when the Negroes were in prison.
Mauson, a physics teacher didn’t believe that the Negroes were the firebugs, for he really knew about those Negroes, He made up his mind to find out who the real firebug was.
One day he was invited to drink in a pub and happened to notice that many bottles and plastic plates were baked by the hot sunrays. Suddenly he realized what the actual fact was. He jumped with joy, saying, “I’ve got the answer!”
Mauson dashed out of the pub to his friend’s house nearby, which also faced south. He made an experiment there to confirm his idea.
The next Saturday afternoon, Mauson asked some policemen and newsmen to come to the house. They were told that the real firebug would be shown there. At that time the sun was shining full into the house and it became hotter and hotter inside the room.
Someone wanted to draw the curtains together, while another was going to use a bottle to drink water, but neither got permission from Mauson, who wanted to let the firebug in.
“Now,” said Mauson, “this house will soon catch fire.” People looked at each other in surprise. Mauson asked them to look at the bottles and focus on the table cloth. After a while the cloth gave off a burning smell and began to catch fire!
The mystery of fire was discovered, but the police wouldn’t believe him and insisted that Negroes had been the firebugs. Instead they arrested Mauson and put him into prison. But Mauson said he would never turn against science. The town was never peaceful, for fire broke out .
| A．in the afternoon | B．in summer | C．at any time | D．A and B |
Why did the police arrest all the Negroes?
| A．One of them had jumped out of the home on fire. |
| B．They were suspected to be the firebugs. |
| C．The police hated the Negroes. |
| D．The Negroes knew something about the fires. |
Drinking in a pub, Mauson realized what the actual fact was .
| A．by experiment | B．by backing the bottles |
| C．through the hot sunrays | D．by accident |
By making an experiment, they knew the real firebug was .
| A．the Negroes | B．bottles | C．sunrays | D．plastic plates |
Mauson was put into prison, because .
| A．he had told a lie |
| B．he had fund out the real firebug |
| C．he had turned against science |
| D．he had made friends with the Negroes |
Women in Nazi Germany were to have a very special job. Hitler was very clear about this. This job was that they should be good mothers bringing up children at home while their husbands worked. Except for some special fields, Hitler saw no reason why a woman should work. Within months of Hitler coming to power, many female doctors, teachers and lawyers were sacked. By the start of the Second World War, very few German women were in fulltime work. From their earliest years, girls were taught that all good German women married at a young age to a proper German and that the wife’s job was to keep a good home for her working husband and to have children.
One of the earliest laws passed by Hitler once he came to power in 1933, was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage. This law stated (声明) that all newly married couples would get a government loan (贷款) of 1000 marks. This loan was not to be simply paid back. The birth of one child meant that 25% of the loan did not have to be paid back. Two children meant that 50% of the loan didn’t need to be paid back. Four children meant that the entire loan was cleared.
What was more, as housewives and mothers, their lives were controlled. Women were not expected to wear make-up or trousers. Only flat shoes were expected to be worn. Women were discouraged from slimming as this was considered bad for child birth.The aim of the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage was to ________.
| A．attract more young people to join the army willingly |
| B．make those married couples become rich quickly |
| C．encourage people to loan more from the government |
| D．encourage couples to have as many children as they could |
The underlined word “sacked” in Paragraph one probably means “________”.
| A．punished | B．fired | C．killed | D．raised |
According to the passage, women in Nazi Germany ________.
| A．could make up or wear beautiful clothes |
| B．were to have children and do housework |
| C．could receive a good education at school |
| D．were offered the equal rights as men |
Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
| A．The life of women in Nazi Germany |
| B．The cruel rule of Hitler in Germany |
| C．The marriage policy in Nazi Germany |
| D．Hitler — a powerful leader in Germany |
Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. It reduces your risk of heart attack and is a good way to control body weight. It is also something you can do with other people, which can be great fun. So, it is important to find time to exercise and be healthier. As well as making time to exercises, another way is to build it into the natural rhythm (节奏) of your day.
· Go for a walk on your lunch break.
Try to find at least three different ways and change them throughout the week. It
might even be possible to find a place to walk inside, for those bad weather days.
· Talk to your employers about improving health at work.
Encourage your workers to cycle to and from work. You might also be able to
encourage them to set up a gymnasium. Sell the idea by pointing out that doing so
will improve productivity (生产率), and make workers happy.
· If you are a student.
Go for walks with friends to talk about your studies. Spend some time in the learning
resource centre reading about sport, exercise and health. The more you know, the
more choices you will have about how to be physically active. Most colleges have
sport and exercise programs that students can take part in. Find out which activities
are being held, and try those you think you might enjoy.Workers are advised to cycle to and from work to ________.
| A．make themselves realize the importance of health |
| B．work better and bring pleasure to themselves |
| C．make themselves become much stronger |
| D．reduce the time spent in walking to work |
When a student wants to do exercise at school, he or she had better ________.
| A．take part in all the exercise programs |
| B．have sports with friends or classmates |
| C．choose the one that he or she likes |
| D．choose the same one all the time |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．walk is most suitable for those who work indoors |
| B．one who knows more about health will be healthier |
| C．exercising with others will be better for one’s health |
| D．combining exercise with daily work can save time to keep healthy |