“YOUR password has expired (过期),” a message said on my screen, with instructions for changing it. Coming up with a new code (密码) doesn’t seem like a big deal, unless you work at my company, where we have to change it monthly, using at least one uppercase (大写的) character, one lowercase character, one symbol, and one number. Oh, the whole password can’t be fewer than eight characters. And I can’t use any of the same passwords I’ve used in the past three months.
Suddenly I was furious (很生气的). What didn’t make it any better was that I was deeply depressed after my recent divorce. Disbelief about what she had done to me was all I thought about every day.
I remembered a tip I’d heard from my former boss. He’d said: “I’m going to use a password to change my life.”
I couldn’t focus on getting things done in my current mood. There were clear signs of what I needed to do to get control of my life again.
My password became the sign. My password reminded me that I shouldn’t let myself be a victim of my recent breakup and that I was strong enough to do something about it.
I made my password Forgive@h3r.
I had to type this several times a day. The simple action changed the way I looked at my ex-wife. That constant reminder led me to accept the way things had happened and find a new way of dealing with my depression. As the month wore on, I felt a slow healing begin to happen. By the time my server asked me to reset my password the following month, I felt free.
One month later, my dear Exchange server asked me yet again to reset my password. I thought about the next thing that I had to get done.
My password became Quit@smoking4ever.
I quit smoking overnight.
This password was a painful one to type during that month, but doing it helped me to yell at myself in my mind as I typed that statement. It motivated me to follow my monthly goal.
One month later, my password became Save4trip@thailand.
Guess where I went three months later: Thailand.
Seeing how these reminders helped to achieve my goals kept me motivated and excited. While it’s sometimes difficult to come up with your next goal, keeping at it brings great resultsWhich of the following passwords fits the company’s requirements?
| A．Seeme@2 |
| B．Dream4future |
| C．Visit$me |
| D．Stay@4ever |
Why couldn’t the author focus on doing things?
| A．Because he couldn’t come up with a new password. |
| B．Because he always forgot his password. |
| C．Because he was in low spirits due to his divorce. |
| D．Because his wife stole his password before their breakup. |
What happened to the author after he had used his password to change his life?
| A．He finally overcame his depression and forgave his ex-wife. |
| B．He started smoking to heal his broken heart. |
| C．He quit his job and went traveling around the world. |
| D．He became furious about his passwords getting longer and longer. |
What message does the author intend to convey through his story?
| A．Never let yourself be a victim of others’ faults. |
| B．Be patient with the healing process for any pain. |
| C．Constant reminders can be positive as well as negative. |
| D．Setting yourself a goal and keeping at it can bring great results. |
Even before they start school, many young girls worry that they are fat. But a new study suggests watching a movie starring a stereotypically(模式化地)thin and beautiful princess may not increase children’s anxieties.
Nearly half of the 3 to 6 year old girls in a study by Professor Stacey Tantleff-Dunn and doctoral student Sharon Hayes said they worry about being fat. About one-third would change a physical feature, such as their weight or hair color.
The number of girls worried about being fat at such a young age concerns Tantleff-Dunn because of the potential effects later in life. Studies have shown young girls worried about their body image are more likely to suffer from eating disorders when they are older.
The encouraging news for parents is that taking their young daughters to see the new Disney film “The Princess and the Frog” isn’t likely to influence how they see their bodies.
“The media have a great effect on how young girls see their bodies. That’s why it’s important for parents to use movies such as ‘The Princess and the Frog,’ to start conversations with their children about weight, skin color and their views of beauty. They can explain that princesses’ tiny waists are not realistic for girls and that children don’t need Cinderella’s golden hair or Snow White’s porcelain(瓷制的) skin to look good,” Tantleff-Dunn said.
“We need to help our children challenge the images of beauty, particularly thinness, that they see and idolize, and encourage them to question how much appearance should be part of their self-worth,” said Tantleff-Dunn. “We should help them build a positive self-image with an appreciation for many different types of body features.” And as their children’s most important role models, parents also should avoid criticizing their own bodies. Tantleff-Dunn worries that young girls caring too much about their appearance may .
| A．have diet trouble in the future |
| B．cause trouble when they are older |
| C．have mental problems later in life |
| D．have difficulty in communication |
What is especially considered as beauty by girls according to the passage?
| A．Having black hair. | B．Having a slim body. |
| C．Having golden skin. | D．Having big bright eyes. |
Parents can help kids build a positive self-image by .
| A．encouraging kids to act as role models |
| B．preventing kids seeing beautiful models |
| C．telling kids the importance of appearance |
| D．avoiding complaining of their own bodies |
The writer writes the passage mainly to
| A．explain the meaning of beauty |
| B．introduce a new research finding |
| C．stress the influence of media on girls |
| D．teach girls how to become a princess |
Boom boom!( I’m here, come to me!)
Krak krak!( Watch out, a leopard (豹)！)
Hok hok hok!( Hey, crowned eagle!)
Very good — you’ve already mastered half the basic vocabulary of the Campbell’s monkey, which lives in the forests of the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast. The adult males have six types of call, each with a specific meaning, but they can mix two or more calls together into a message with a different meaning.
Having spent months recording the monkeys’ calls in response to both natural and artificial stimuli (刺激物), a group led by Klaus Zuberbuhler of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland argues that the Campbell’s monkeys have a certain form of syntax(句法).
This is likely to be controversial because despite great effort to teach chimpanzees(大猩猩) language, they showed little or no ability to combine the sounds they learned into a sentence with a larger meaning. Syntax, basic to the structure of language, uniquely belongs to humans.
“Krak” is a call that warns of leopards in the neighborhood. The monkeys give it in response to real leopards and to leopard shouting broadcast by the researchers. The monkeys can vary the call by adding “-oo”: “Krak-oo” seems to be a general word for hunter, but one given in a special context – when monkeys hear but don’t see a hunter, or when they hear the alarm calls of another species.
The “boom-boom” call invites other monkeys to come toward the male making the sound. Two booms can be combined with a series of “krak-oos”, with a meaning entirely different to that of either of its single parts. “Boom boom krak-oo krak-oo krak-oo” is the monkey’s version of “Timber!” – it warns of falling trees.
If Zuberbuhler is correct, the Campbell’s monkeys can both vary the meaning of specific calls by adding something and combine calls to make a different meaning.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A group of scientists. | B．Calls of Campbell’s monkeys. |
| C．The lifestyle of monkeys. | D．The importance of language. |
According to the passage, chimpanzees .
| A．don’t communicate by sounds |
| B．only understand simple sentences |
| C．fail to learn language from humans |
| D．are not related to the Campbell’s monkeys |
If the Campbell’s monkeys hear a lion’s shouting, they will call “”.
| A．Krak | B．Boom | C．Boom boom krak-oo krak-oo krak-oo | D．Krak-oo |
According to the passage, it seems that .
| A．Zuberbuhler has spent years in the forests |
| B．the writer isn’t sure of Zuberbuhler’s opinions |
| C．the Campbell’s monkeys are cleverer than other animals |
| D．the Campbell’s monkeys can express six meanings by calls |
Ricochet, a 19-month-old golden retriever（金毛寻回犬）, was bred(饲养) to be a service dog but never made it. Now, she has found her role in the ocean, surfing with a disabled teen.
Patrick Ivison, 15, suffered a severe injury in a car accident when he was 14 months old. He has been disabled since, but the Californian boy never gave up on the goal of walking. He recently took his first steps. When Ivison first met Ricochet, the two immediately hit it off. To raise money for Ivison’s physical therapy(治疗), which is not covered by insurance, it was suggested that the pair take up surfing. Ivison said that when he first heard the idea he thought, “We are completely out of our minds.”
But from the start, the two took to surfing naturally. With the help of his mom, Jennifer Kayler, and friends, who carry Patrick to the ocean and guide the extra-large surfboard into the waters, Ivison rides the waves with his pal standing on the back. “It’s kind of like a grand performance out there,” Ivison said of the group of people who help him out. The dog helps to balance out the board The teen remembered one pass when “we were about to flip over and then she stepped on that side of the board and helped us out.”
The two participated Sunday in the Surf City Surf Dog contest as a fund-raiser(募集资金者). They wowed the cheering crowd during their exhibition. The event raised $8,200. About $2,000 will go toward a service dog for Ivison, and the rest will go toward his “Help Patrick Walk” therapy fund. Ivison got disabled when .
| A．he drove to the seaside | B．he began to learn surfing |
| C．he suffered a severe disease | D．he was over one year old |
Ivison decided to take up surfing in order to .
| A．collect money for his treatment | B．set an example for the disabled |
| C．realize his dream of being a surfer | |
| D．develop courage and positive attitudes |
What did Ivison think about the idea of going surfing in the beginning?
| A．Easy. | B．Interesting. | C．Crazy. | D．Exciting. |
In what way does Ricochet help Ivison surf?
| A．She keeps on cheering Ivison on. |
| B．She keeps the balance of the surfboard. |
| C．She gives signals when huge waves come. |
| D．She pulls the board back if Ivison falls off. |
In 1987, while serving as the public affairs officer at Fort Bragg, I would frequently visit the local high schools to speak to the students about the Army. As a lieutenant colonel(中校), I found it particularly rewarding to talk with the teenagers about the benefits of military service, if only for a few years of their lives.
During one of these visits, I reported to the secretary in the principal’s office to let her know that I was here for the third-period class. I was a little surprised when she told me. “The principal would like to see you before you go to the class.”
As I entered his office, I was greeted by a gentleman who appeared to be in his late thirties, and he welcomed me with a smile and a handshake. “You don’t remember me, do you?” he said.
I looked closely at the face again and could not recall where we may have met before.
“You were my company commander in basic training at Fort Jackson in 1970,” the principal said.
“Let me help you out,” he suggested. “You gave me a three-day pass to go home and see my newborn baby.” I immediately remembered the incident!
“Yes,” I said. “I remember now.” It was the only three-day pass I had issued because the soldiers were on their way to Vietnam immediately after they finished training. But I knew if I did not let him go home to see his son and something happened to him, I would regret denying the opportunity he had to be with his family.
“Come on, Colonel. I’d like to introduce you to ‘the baby’. He’s in your third-period class. By letting me go see him, you gave me a reason to stay focused and to come home safe from that war. Thank you , sir.”
It was the most rewarding class I had ever given, and I had no problem in telling the students about the bonds of friendship and the values that Army life can provide…and that can last a lifetime. In the writer’s opinion, talking to teens about the Army is .
| A．a forced task | B．a pleasant thing |
| C．an unavoidable duty | D．an embarrassing experience |
Why did the principal want to see the writer?
| A．He wanted to send his son to the Army. |
| B．He felt sorry for causing the writer trouble. |
| C．He was disappointed at the writer’s lecture. |
| D．He intended to express his thanks to the writer. |
The underlined part in the text suggests that .
| A．the son may die | B．the son may become ill |
| C．the soldier may die in the war | D．the soldier may be hurt in the training |
What might be the most suitable title for the text?
| A．A soldier remembers. | B．A principal thinks |
| C．A baby grows | D．A lecture continues |
Since new technologies are ever growing, employers now have the chance to monitor （监控） their employees to make them spare more time to work when they use their phones, computer terminals, emails and even when an employee is using the Internet．
Recent surveys have shown that a majority of employers monitor their employees’ activities．It was found that three fourths of employers monitored the websites their employees visited in order to prevent improper surfing．The survey further indicated that 65% of employers used software to block connections to websites considered off limits to employees．One third of employers monitored their employees’ number of keystrokes and the amount of time spent on the keyboard and lastly just over half of the employers surveyed review and kept email messages．
Most of the time, email is not considered private if the email system is used at a company, the employer owns it and is allowed to review its contents．Email messages that are sent within the company, as well as those that are sent from the employee’s terminal to another company, or from another company to the employee are subject to monitoring．If an email is deleted out of the employee’s account, that doesn’t mean that they are totally deleted．The messages are kept in memory．Emails are often backed up along with other important data from the computer system．If an employer’s email policy specifically states that messages marked as “private” will be kept confidential （机密的）,however, there may also be some exceptions to that policy （政策）．
In order to know their employer’s email policy, employees should read over the employee handbook．If the handbook doesn’t address the issue of email monitoring, they should speak with their employer about their policy for emails and privacy．Currently there are very few laws that address workplace privacy; however, there are some organizations that are working to advocate for employees so that there will be a stronger government regulation of employee monitoring activities．According to the author, the employers’ monitoring ____．
| A．may be an efficient management method |
| B．should be performed secretly |
| C．has resulted from the development in computers |
| D．is quite common nowadays |
Employers probably think that monitoring the employees can help them ____．
| A．improve their work efficiency（有效） | B．use computers properly |
| C．develop a way of keeping office secrets | D．reduce their mental pressures |
It can be inferred from the passage that ____．
| A．employees should delete their own emails at once to keep them secret |
| B．an employer’s email policy may protect the employees’ privacy |
| C．nobody can help solve the problem of office privacy |
| D．an employee may feel troubled by being monitored in the office |
The underlined phrase “advocate for” in the last paragraph means “____”．
| A．tell the employees the truth |
| B．publicly support |
| C．ask the employees to be more attentive |
| D．remind the employees of the possible failure |