A baby mermaid was just born in Finland; Justin Bibber is getting married; iphone 6 is going to be released this year…We read rumors every day on the Internet. With the help of social media, rumors — no matter whether they are true or false — spread like wildfire, and sometimes we can’t be sure what to believe.
Now, an international group of researchers might be able to make it easier for us. They are working on a lie detector that could separate online truth from lies, Discovery news reported.
Named after the Greek goddess Pheme, famed for spreading bad rumors, the system is far from a traditional lie detector, which works by attaching a machine to a potential liar. Instead, Pheme analyzes the rumor directly.
When a rumor comes out, on a micro blog, for example, Pheme can trace the source of information to see if it was released by reliable sources like experts or news agencies. If it wasn’t, Pheme then examines the history and background of the account to identify whether it was created just to spread rumors — whether it’s what’s called an “Internet bot.”
After finding the source of the rumor, the system can keep a close eye on how other users react to the rumor — either confirming or denying it — to help analyze and further determine the reliability of the information.
Some people might find the Pheme system unnecessary based on the idea that false rumors never survive for long and people always get to the truth over time. While that’s a fair point, there is a certain class of rumors, such as “a tiger is at large” or “an asteroid (小行星) is about to hit the Earth”, that can cause panic among people and thus lead to serious consequences.
These are cases when we need to be able to check for accuracy quickly. “Our system aims to help with that, by tracking and verifying information in real time,” lead researcher Kalina Bontcheva, at the University of Sheffield, UK, told the BBC.
According to Bontcheva, Pheme is still under development and won’t be ready for another 18 months.
Until then, there’s an old fashioned technique that you can use to protect yourself from false information — ask questions, check sources and don’t believe any claim until you’ve seen the evidence for it.What is the article about?
| A．Tips on how to deal with rumors online. |
| B．Factors that make rumors so easy to spread. |
| C．A new device that can check whether online rumors are true or not. |
| D．An introduction to some types of lie detectors. |
By writing the first paragraph, the writer intends to ________.
| A．share with readers some exciting news |
| B．warn readers not to trust anything on the Internet |
| C．tell readers rumors are out of control |
| D．introduce the topic of the passage |
What makes Pheme different from a traditional lie detector?
| A．It works by attaching a machine to a potential liar. |
| B．It examines a statement’s truthfulness directly. |
| C．It can identify a rumor and prevent it from spreading. |
| D．It is controlled by what is called an “Internet bot” |
How does the Pheme system determine the reliability of a piece of information?
| A．Based on the reliability of its sources and the history of its authors. |
| B．Based on how the majority of people react to it. |
| C．By collecting and examining relevant information to further confirm it. |
| D．By making use of an “Internet bot” to track and verify the information. |
Which of the following statements might the author agree with?
| A．The Pheme system is not very helpful because all rumors eventually die down. |
| B．The Pheme system will be ready to help social networks become more accurate by the end of 2014. |
| C．The Pheme system can identify almost all kinds of rumors on social networking sites. |
| D．The Pheme system aims to respond to rumors quickly so as to reduce the impact of false ones. |
Books are not Nadia Konyk's thing. Her mother brings them home from the library, but Nadia rarely showsinterest. Instead, like so many other teenagers, Nadia, 15, is addicted to the Internet. She regularly spends at least six hours a day in front of the computer, spending most of her time reading and commenting on stories written by other users. Her mother, Deborah Konyk, would prefer that Nadia read books for a change.
As teenagers' scores on reading tests have declined, some argue that the hours spent surfing the Internet are the enemy of reading—destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading ofbooks. Critics have warned that electronic media would destroy reading.
Others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read andwrite. What is different now, some literacy experts say, is that spending time on the Web engages viewers withtext.
Web supporters believe that strong readers on the Web may eventually surpass those who rely on books. Reading five Web sites, experts say, can be more enriching than reading onebook. "It takes a long time to read a 400-page book," said Spiro. "In a tenth of the time," he said, the Internet allows a reader to "cover a lot more of the topic from different points ofview."
Some literacy experts say that reading itself should be redefined. Interpreting videos or pictures, they say, may be as important a skill as analyzing a novel or apoem. "Kids are using sound and images so they have a world of ideas to put together," said Donna Alvermann, a professor of literacy education at the University of Georgia. "Books aren't out of the picture, but they're only one way of experiencing information in the worldtoday."
Next year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which gives reading, math and science tests to 15-year-old students in more than 50 countries, will add an electronic reading component（软件）. The United States says it will not participate because an additional test would overburdenschools.Why are books not the thing of Nadia Konyk?
A．She does reading  mainly through electronic media. |
| B．Her mother doesn’t provide her with enough books. |
| C．She has become addicted to playing games on the web. |
D．Like many youngsters, she has lost interest in reading. |
How many hours does Nadia spend in front of the computer in a week?
| A．Exactly forty-two hours | B．Usually fifty hours  |
C．More than forty hours | D．At most thirty-six hours |
Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?
| A．To search for information on the web engages viewers without text. |
B．To explain videos is a technique more importa nt than analyzing a novel. |
| C．Children using sound and images may lose their interest in movies. |
| D．People reading well online may surpass those who rely on books. |
Why did the US refuse to participate in the tests with an added electronic reading component? It is because ______.
| A．the teachers and students considered it useless |
| B．such a test would give schools more extra work |
| C．they thought reading was the only way to get information |
| D．none of them showed interest in such an additional test |
Our boat floated on between walls of forest. It was too thick to allow us a view of the land we were passing through, though we knew from the map that our river must from time to time be passing through chains of hills which crossed the jungle plains. Nowhere did we find a place where we could have landed: where the jungle did not actually spread right down into the river, banks of soft mud prevented us form going ashore. In any case, what would we have gained by landing? The country was full of snakes and other dangerous creatures an
d the jungle was so thick that one would be able to advance slowly, cutting one’s way with knives the whole way. So we stayed in the boat, hoping that when we reached the sea, a friendly fisherman would pick us up and take us to civilization.
As for water, there was a choice. We could drink the muddy river water, o
r die of thirst. We drank the water. Men who have just escaped from what appeared to be certain death lost all worries about such small things as diseases caused by dirty water. In fact, none of us suffered from any illness as a result.
One day we passed another village, but fortunately nobody saw us. We did not wish to risk being taken prisoners a second time: we might not be so lucky as to escape in a stolen boat again. It can be inferred from the passage that the only thing they could see in a boat was _______.
| A．walls | B．chains of hills | C．tall trees | D．vast land |
From the passage, we can learn that _______.
A．the country wa s a civilized society |
B．the country was a tropical jungle country |
| C．they found a place where they could land | D．they were on a journey home |
According to the passage, what happened to the people in the boat at last?
| A．They were arrested. | B．They manage d to escape to safety. |
C．They were saved by some villagers | D．The passage doesn’t mention it. |
The best title for this passage might be _______.
| A．The Problem of Landing | B．An Adventure |
| C．An Entirely New Experience | D．Escape |
The principles about applying for jobs have altered greatly lately. In the past, people preferred a hand-written application letter．However, nowadays it is becoming more and more common to apply for a job through the Internet．You can find information on the Internet about how to apply for jobs．Information can be found about how to fulfill your application letter, the clothes that you should wear and how to carry out the interview itself．
The importance of body language is often mentioned，but doesn’t always get the attention it deserves．After all，before a word has even been spoken，your body language will have already given people their first impression of you．Additionally, your body language will also give out a lot more information．Based on your body language it can be seen if you are self-confident．It can also show if you are a busy or a quiet type and it helps give an impression of whether you are speaking truthfully or not．Body language can show how enthusiastic you are and if you are a nice person．someone who will take his work seriously, but also someone who has a sense of humor and can enjoy a joke from time to time．The members of the application committee will ask you questions，but your answers won’t only be oral．The committee will not only pay attention to what you say, but also to how you say it! Body language will determine first if it ‘clicks’，and sometimes all it takes is just a few seconds．Everybody uses body language，but it takes place mostly at a subconscious（下意识的） level．Using body language appropriately, you can definitely increase your chances of getting a job．What kind of people is the text mainly meant for?
| A．Interviewers | B．Job-hunting people | C．Employers | D．Lay-off workers |
We can learn form the first paragraph that_______．
| A．hand-written letters are not used in finding a job |
| B．the more expensive clothes interviewees wear, the better |
| C．body language is more important than spoken words |
| D．Internet is of significance in applying for a job |
Using body language well in a job interview will probably _______．
| A．get rid of the interviewers’ prejudice | B．determine what position one will get |
| C．increase the possibility to get the wanted job | D．help one remove nervousness |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Those using body language are usually confident． |
| B．Body language is often used on purpose in job hunting． |
| C．Body language is a mirror to reflect one’s personality． |
| D．People enjoying jokes are preferred in a job interview． |
The Best of Friends
The
evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image (印象) of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,” said one member of the research team. “They’re expected to be rebellious (叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation (商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. “My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. “I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, “Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.” What is the popular image of teenagers today?
| A．They worry about school. | B．They quarrel a lot with other family members |
| C．They have to be locked in to avoid troubles. . | D．They dislike living with their parents. |
The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ______.
| A．share family responsibility | B．make family decisions |
| C．go boating with their family | D．cause trouble in their families |
Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents______.
| A．go to clubs more often with their children | B．give their children more freedom |
| C．care less about their children’s life | D．are much stricter with their children |
According to the author, teenage rebellion ______.
| A．existed only in the 1960s | B．is common nowadays |
C．may be a f alse belief |
D．resulted from changes in families |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Harmony in family. | B．Education in family. |
| C．Negotiation in family. | D．Teenage trouble in family. |
“Regardless of social class, race, age, men say they hate to shop,” says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. “Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they’ll say, ‘Well, that’s not shopping. That’s research.’”
In other words, what men and women call “buying things” and how they approach that task are different.
Women will wander through several 1,000-square-meter stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder(摄录像一体机).
Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.
“Men are frequently shopping to win,” says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. “They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best one, the latest one and if they do that it makes them happy.”
When women shop, “They’re doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy,” says Ann. “They’re kind of shopping for love.”
“Teenage girls learn to shop from their moms and older sisters, but they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen,” City University Zukin says.
“And although men’s magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it’s TV that has the eye of young male shoppers,” says Ann and Zukin.
“Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen magazine or Lucky are used by girls,” says Zukin, “to help make clothing and toiletry(化妆品) choices.”
“Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it,” Loyola’s Ann says.
And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don’t want to get cheated.
Ann adds, “There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home --- they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it.”
78. From the first paragraph we can find that ______.
A. men are all dishonest B. men are all book lovers
C. men hate to shop actually D. men like to shop in fact
79. Compared to women men usually treat shopping ______.
A. honestly B. seriously C. frequently D. foolishly
80. The underlined word “magnets” in the last paragraph means ______.
A. magazines that attract young women B. persons that have a powerful attraction
C. tools that can help housewives much D. vegetables that make women beautiful