When you’re surfing the Internet on your laptop from your dorm or home, do you know your personal details are being gathered secretly? And would you be surprised to know the information may be sold cheaply to advertisers and marketers?
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, all it takes is a tiny file in a computer-a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters- to record the computer user’s age, gender, location, favorite movies and hobbies.
The newspaper reports that Lotame Solutions Inc., a New York company, uses sophisticated(高科技) software called a "beacon" to capture what people are typing on a website.
Lotame packages that data into profiles（个人资料）about individuals, only without their names, and sells the profiles to companies seeking customers．Batches of such data may be sold for a few dollars.
The Wall Street Journal survey discovered that spying on Internet users is one of the fastest-growing businesses on the World Wide Web.
The "cookie"- a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your preferences for one site, or to track you across many sites is already old news．There are new and more complex tools such as "beacons" which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage．These beacons instantly assess the Internet user’s location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.
Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented（空前的）threats．Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.
Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous and the data is used harmlessly. But the technology has grown so powerful that even some of the biggest websites in the US don’t know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors’ computers．These include MSN.com and Yahoo.com.
Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you’ve been planning to buy, don’t be amazed that your computer can read your mind.The purpose of the passage is to .
| A．introduce a tiny file in a computer-a single code |
| B．show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet |
| C．show how to protect your privacy |
| D．introduce a sophisticated software called a "beacon" |
．All of the following statements are Wrong except .
| A．Lotame sells the profiles about individuals to companies seeking customers with their age, gender, location, hobbies and names |
| B．spying on Internet users is the fastest-growing businesses on the World Wide Web |
| C．some of the biggest websites in the US know they were installing intrusive files on visitors’ computers |
| D．a tiny file in a computer-a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters can record users’ information |
It can be inferred that .
| A．because the data is used harmlessly．Internet users around the world will not face threats |
| B．when a person surf the Internet, his personal details may be let out without his knowledge |
| C．your computer can really read your mind |
| D．MSN.com and Yahoo.com．use software to capture what people are typing on a website |
According to the passage, “beacon” .
| A．is a tiny text file put on your PC by websites |
| B．is a soft ware that can package that data into profiles about individuals |
| C．can assess the Internet user’s location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions |
| D．is not more complex than the "cookie" |
What’s the writer’s attitude to this problem?
| A．Neutral | B．Worried | C．Optimistic | D．Indifferent |
When Armida Armato’s daughter, Alexia, came home from school one day last year keen to go on a school trip to Ecuador, she wasn’t too sure how to feel. She was happy that her daughter could experience something she never did as a teen but was fearful of letting her travel to such a remote part of the world.
Alexia was 16 at the time, a student at Westwood High School. The school sponsored a humanitarian trip for 26 students and two teachers to spend 18 days living in a mountain village to build a one-room school. Even though Armato trusted her daughter, the other students and the teachers, she was worried about the side effects from the travel vaccines, possible accidents, and medical care.
Now that Alexia was home, Armato said she saw her daughter’s new maturity, greater confidence and independence. “This is the best thing I ever did,” Alexia said. “The experience was so eye-opening and life-changing. You’re with people who are not as lucky as you are. They live in very poor conditions but they’re so happy and outgoing. You say, ‘My God. I’m taking everything for granted back home.’”
She said they built a one-room school from scratch with no mechanical cement mixers. They used their hands, shovels and basic tools. She and another student lived with a local family in a small village about eight hours outside the capital, Quito. Despite the initial strangeness and knowing only basic Spanish, she said they grew very close and felt like a family.
Every year, groups of students at Montreal High School like Alexia pack their bags and fly off with classmates and teachers to developing countries where they volunteer for a variety of projects.
“Armato’s worries are very common among parents,” says Bill Nevin, a teacher at St. George’s High School. He organizes a humanitarian rip to India to the Sheela Bal Bhavan orphanage and says the three biggest fears families have are health, security and contact.When hearing the news that her daughter would go on a school trip to Ecuador, Armato was _______.
| A．proud and happy |
| B．supportive but concerned |
| C．fearful and nervous |
| D．excited but puzzled |
The underlined phrase “from scratch” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.
| A．having great help |
| B．using high technology |
| C．ending up in failure |
| D．starting from the beginning |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Volunteering helps students grow and develop. |
| B．School trips make parents worried about their children. |
| C．Ecuador is the most attractive travel destination in the world. |
| D．Brave Alexia dreams to work in Ecuador one day. |
E
Energy independence． It has a nice ring to it． Doesn't it？ If you think so， you're not alone，because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades， and never more so than in the past few years， when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession（经济衰退）．
"Energy independence"and its rhetorical（修辞的） companion"energy security"are， however，slippery concepts that are rarely though through． What is it we want independence from， exactly？
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil．But there are reasons that we buy all that old from elsewhere．
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running． Yes， there is a trickle（涓涓细流）of biofuel（生物燃料）available， and more may become available， but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction．
Second， Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil． They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad． Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection． To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports？
Third， there are benefits to trade． It allows for economic efficiency， and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do， we benefit． And although you don't read about this much， the United States is also a large exporter of oil products， selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries．
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and， in fact， relies on that steady flow to maintain ite economy． When that flow is interrupted， we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices． At the same time， we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world．
From the passage， we know that biofuels ．
| A．keep America's economy running healthily |
| B．prove to be a good alternative to petroleum |
| C．do not provide a sustainable energy supply |
| D．cause serious damage to the environment |
Why does America rely heavily on oil imports？
| A．Its own oil production falls short of demand． |
| B．Its own oil reserves are quickly running out． |
| C．It wants to keep Its own environment undamaged． |
| D．It wants to expand its storage of crude oil． |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph？
| A．America doesn't have enough oil supplies． |
| B．People can benefit more from importing oil． |
| C．Energy independence is significant for Americans． |
| D．Short of energy may cause economic depression． |
What is the author's purpose in writing the passage？
| A．To justify America's dependence on oil imports． |
| B．To stress the importance of energy conservation． |
| C．To arouse Americans' awareness of the energy crisis． |
| D．To explain the increase of international oil trade． |
D
Older couples in a bad marriage -- particularly female spouses -- have a higher risk for heart
disease than those in a good marriage， finds the first nationally representative study of its kind．The findings suggest the need for marriage counseling（咨询） and programs aimed at promoting marital quality and well-being for couples into their 70s and 80s， said lead investigator Hui Liu， a Michigan State University sociologist．
"Marriage counseling is focused largely on younger couples，" said Liu． "But these results show that marital quality is just as important at older ages， even when the couple has been married 40 0r 50 years． "
The study， funded by the National Institute of Aging， an arm of the National Institutes of Health，is published online in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior．
Liu analyzed five years of data from about 1，200 married men and women who participated the National Social Life， Health and Aging Project． Respondents were aged 57-85 at the beginning of the study．
The project included survey questions about marital quality， lab tests and self-reported measures of cardiovascular health such as heart attacks， strokes， hypertension and high levels of C-reactive protein in the blood．
Liu set out to learn how marital quality is related to risk of heart disease over time， and whether this relationship varies by gender and/or age． Among her findings： Negative martial quality（eg．spouse criticizes， spouse is demanding） has a bigger effect on heart health than positive marital quality．In other words， a bad marriage is more harmful to your heart health than a good marriage．The effect of marital quality on cardiovascular risk becomes much stronger at older ages．Meanwhile，marital quality has a bigger effect on women's heart health than it does on men's， possibly because women tend to internalize（使藏在心底） negative feelings and thus are more likely to feel depressed and develop cardiovascular problems． Heart disease leads to a decline in marital quality for women， but not for men． It's common that wives are more likely to provide support and care to sick husbands， while husbands are less likely to take care of sick wives．"In this way， a wife's poor health may affect how she assesses her marital quality， but a husband's poor health doesn't hurt his
view of marriage，"Liu said．
The study suggests that ．
| A．elderly couples are less likely to be affected by marital quality |
| B．the effect of marital quality on male and female is the same |
| C．bad martial quality affects heart health more greatly |
| D．marital quality has a positive effect on health |
We can infer from the the last paragraph that Liu agrees that ．
| A．marital quality has nothing to do with cardiovascular health |
| B．gender or age may affect one's marriage quality |
| C．marriage counseling is unnecessary for young couples |
| D．husbands will not take care of their sick wives |
Why does marital quality have a bigger effect on women？
| A．Because women are weak physically． |
| B．Because women have to take care of their sick husband． |
| C．Because women tend to keep their negative feelings to themselves． |
| D．Because women expect too much oftheir marriage． |
According to the passage， who is most likefy to have a heart disease？
| A．Marie， 40 years old，just got divorced． |
| B．Bill， 66 years old， lives with his wife and grandchildren． |
| C．Justin， 28 years old， got married recently． |
| D．Sophia， 59 years old， often quarrels with her husband． |
C
lt's a dog's life for the nation's mutts - who are becoming anxious and aggressive through lack of play， experts fear．
A study of 4，000 dog owners has found a clear link between limited playtime and behaviour problems， such as being nervous when left alone， disobedience and snapping at other animals． And while researchers can't be sure that playing less is directly to blame， they say that games provide vital intellectual stimulation and exercise． The Bristol University study showed that only one in five owners play with their dogs six times a day． Half play two or three times a day and 10 per cent have just one play session．
Mark Evans， former chief vet for the RSPCA， said that dogs are one of the few animals to play into adulthood． He told the Sunday Times： 'There is a clear association in the results． Owners report more potential behaviour problems in dogs that play less．'
Emily Blackwell -- who conducted the research uncovered tonight on Channel 4's Dogs： Their Secret Lives - said dogs often enjoy playing so much that they slow down or change strategy to make the fun last longer． The lecturer in canine（犬科动物） welfare hopes that 10，000 people will eventually fill out the survey． This will enable her to firmly establish whether lack of play is affecting dogs' moods - or if their emotional problems put their owners off spending time with them． For instance，they may slow down when playing 'chase'， allowing their owner to catch up with them and the game to continue． Favourite games include wrestling， chase and tugging at toys， and perhaps unsurprisingly，'fetch' topped the list． Tennis balls were the favourite toys， followed by soft， squeaky toys， rubber balls and rope toys．
The research comes just days after an animal charity warned that millions of dogs are becoming fat． aggressive and destructive because their owners are clueless about basic animal care．The PDSA said that treats including beer， chips and leftover takeaways are making dogs fat and unwell – and wamed that almost a million are never taken for a walk．
If the dogs are not looked after carefully， ．
| A．they may become rebelling and damaging |
| B．they may get hurt and run away from home |
| C．they may become less active and dislike playing with the owners |
| D．they are more likely to fight with other animals |
What is Emily Blackwell's opinion on dogs' behavior？
| A．If the owners spend less time with their dogs， they may become aggressive． |
| B．Dogs know how to make their playing time last longer． |
| C．Only a few owners spend enough time playing with their dogs． |
| D．Some junk food or leftover may cause obesity on dogs． |
The underlined word "this" in the fourth paragraph probably refers to ．
| A．canine welfare |
| B．Channel 4's Dogs：Their Secret Lives |
| C．the survey |
| D．favourite games |
What can we learn from the passage？
| A．Researchers confirm that playing less is to blame for dogs' bad behaviours． |
| B．Most of the owners will play with their dogs many times in a day． |
| C．Chase and tennis balls are the favourites of dogs． |
| D．It's obvious that dogs' behaviour problems are related with their playing time． |
B
On behalf of the Obama family，I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving．
Like many of you． we'll spend the day with family and friends，catching up，eating some good food and watching a little football．Before we lift a fork，we lend a hand by going out in the community to serve some of our neighbors in need．And we give thanks for each other， and for all of God's blessings．We all share this day，united by the gratitude for the bounty（慷慨） of this nation．
And we welcome the contributions of all people-no matter their origin or color or beliefs-who call America home， and who enrich the life of our nation． It is a belief as old as our founding：“Epluribus unum” -- that out of many，we are one． We are reminded that this creed， and America itself was never an inevitability， but the result of ordinary people in every generation doing their part to uphold our founding ideals-by taking the blessings of freedom， and multiplying them for those who would follow．
As President Kennedy once wrote， even as we give thanks for all that we've inherited from those who came before us-“the decency（庄重，正派） of purpose， steadfastness（坚定）of resolve and strength of will， for the courage and the humility， which they possessed．” we must also remember that “the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them．”
Today，we are grateful to all Americans who do their part to live by those ideals， including our brave men and women in uniform overseas and their families， who sacrifice so much to keep America safe．We are grateful to the countless Americans who serve their communities in soup kitchens and shelters，looking out for those who are less fortunate，and lifting up those who have fallen on hard times．
This generosity， this compassion， this belief that we are each other's keepers， is essential to who we are， not just on this day，but every day．It's easy to focus on what separates us．But as we gather with loved ones on this Thanksgiving， let's remember and be grateful for what ties us together．
Our love of country．Our commitment to justice and equality．Our belief that America's best days are ahead，and that her destiny is ours to shape-and that our inherited ideals must be the birthright of all of our children．
That's what today is all about：that out of many，we are one．Thank you， God bless you．
What makes America as it is today？
| A．The blessings of God． |
| B．The persistent efforts of all Americans． |
| C．The contributions of people from different origin． |
| D．The bonus of World War II． |
As is mentioned several times in the passage， the sentence “out of many， we are one” implies
| A．although we come from different places， now we share the same culture． |
| B．onjy if we unite as one can we make a better world． |
| C．we are unique ones picked out by God． |
| D．among the many countries in the world， America is the best one to live in． |
What's the purpose by referring to President Kennedy's saying？
| A．To testify what we have today is inherited from our ancestors． |
| B．To emphasis the importance of giving thanks to our forefathers and fellows． |
| C．To remind people to share happiness with others． |
| D．To encourage every American to do their own part in building the country． |
President Obama's speech is made to ．
①call on Americans to unite together and help each other
② raise money to help the people in need
③clarify how the Thanksgiving comes into being
④express thanks to those who serve people at home or abroad
| A．①② | B．③④ | C．②③ | D．①④ |
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