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 loads 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 Face book 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 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 every one 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. In original business model, which involved selling ads and putting then At the side of the pages totally 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 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, it's 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 trust. That's too high a price to pay.
1.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 profits by selling its users' personal data.
D.It provides loads of information to its users.
2.What does the author say about most Facebook users?
A.They are reluctant to give up their personal information.
B.They don't know their personal data enriches Facebook.
C.They don't identify themselves when using the website.
D.They care very little about their personal information.
3.Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
A.To render better service to its users.
B.To conform to the Federal guidelines.
C.To improve its users' connectivity.
D.To expand its scope of business.
4.Why does Senator Charles Schumer advocate?
A.Setting guidelines for advertising on websites.
B.Banning the sharing of users' personal information.
C.Formulating regulations for social-networking sites.
D.Removing ads from all social-networking sites.
5.Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
A.He is dissatisfied with its current service.
B.He finds many of its users untrustworthy.
C.He doesn't want his personal data abused.
D.He is upset by its frequent rule changes.
In times of economic crisis. Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a drop in our skyhigh divorce rate. But this won't necessarily represent. an increase in happy marriages. In the long run, the Depression weakened American families, and the current crisis will probably do the same.
We tend to think of the Depression as a time when families pulled together to survive huge job losses, By 1932. when nearly one-quarter of the workforce was unemployed, the divorce rate had declined by around 25% from 1929 But this doesn't mean people were suddenly happier with their marriages. Rather, with incomes decreasing and insecure jobs, unhappy couples often couldn't afford to divorce. They feared neither spouse could manage alone.
Today, given the job losses of the past year, fewer unhappy couples will risk starting separate households, Furthermore, the housing market meltdown will make it more difficult for them to finance their separations by selling their homes.
After financial disasters family members also tend to do whatever they can to help each other and their communities, A 1940 book. The Unemployed Man and His Family, described a family in which the husband initially reacted to losing his job "with tireless search for work."He was always active, looking for odd jobs to do.
The problem is that such an impulse is hard to sustain Across the country, many similar families were unable to maintain the initial boost in morale(士气). For some, the hardships of life without steady work eventually overwhelmed their attempts to keep their families together. The divorce rate rose again during the rest of the decade as the recovery took hold.
Millions of American families may now be in the initial stage of their responses to the current crisis, working together and supporting one another through the early months of unemployment.
Today's economic crisis could well generate a similar number of couples whose relationships have been irreparably(无法弥补地)ruined. So it's only when the economy is healthy again that we'll begin to see just how many broken families have been created.
1.In the initial stage, the current economic crisis is likely to __________.
A.tear many troubled families apart
B.contribute to enduring family ties
C.bring about a drop in the divorce rate
D.cause a lot of conflicts in the family
2.In the Great Depression many unhappy couples close to stick together because
A.starting a new family would be hard
B.they expected things would turn better
C.they wanted to better protect their kids
D.living separately would be too costly
3.In addition to job losses. What stands in the way of unhappy couples getting a divorce?
A.Mounting family debts
B.A sense of insecurity
C.Difficulty in getting a loan
D.Falling housing prices
4.What will the current economic crisis eventually do to some married couples?
A.It will force them to pull their efforts together
B.It will undermine their mutual understanding
C.It will help strengthen their emotional bonds
D.It will irreparably damage their relationship
5.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.The economic recovery will see a higher divorce rate
B.Few couples can stand the test of economic hardships
C.A stable family is the best protection against poverty.
D.Money is the foundation of many a happy marriage
Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors — or doesn’t it?
While such vigilant(警觉的)tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.
In many cases, screening can lead to additional biopsies and surgeries to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups.
It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy(预期寿命).
A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening- especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.
It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that make sense for the whole patient. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of health care.”
That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.
1.Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?
A. It is believed to contribute to long life.
B. It is part of their health care package.
C. The elderly are more sensitive about their health.
D. The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.
2.How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?
A. It adds too much to their medical bills.
B. It helps increase their life expectancy.
C. They are doubtful about necessity.
D. They think it does more than good.
3.What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?
A. It applies to women over 50.
B. It is a must for adult women.
C. It is optional for young women.
D. It doesn’t apply to women over 74.
4.Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?
A. They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.
B. They want to take advantage of the medical care system.
C. They want data for medical research.
D. They want their patients to suffer less.
5.What does the author say is the general view about health care?
A. The more, the better.
B. Prevention is better than cure.
C. Better early than late.
D. Better care, longer life.
As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.
That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations, and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still humming along, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!
And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.
I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.
But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.
So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.
1.The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______?
A.deprives many people of job opportunities.
B.prevents many people from changing careers.
C.should not stop people from looking for a job.
D.does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening.
2.Where do most job openings come from?
A.Job growth
B.Job turnover
C.Improved economy
D.Business expansion
3.What does the author say about overall job growth?
A.It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.
B.It increases people’s confidence in the economy.
C.It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.
D.It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.
4.What is the key to landing a job according to the author?
A.Education
B.Intelligence
C.Persistence
D.Experience
5.What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?
A.They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.
B.They provide the public with the latest information.
C.They warn of the structural problems in the economy.
D.They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
An old woman walked around as she pushed her shopping cart full of many things. She was
36 . Her hair was untidy. Her clothes were torn. And some of her teeth were missing.
She 37 and asked me for change. Instead of giving her change, I 38 her to eat out and she 39 . We went across the street to an outdoor café so she could 40 her cart while we had lunch. The 41 was surprised when this woman appeared and did not want to serve us, 42 she forced herself. We ate our lunch. She was very 43 and the food disappeared almost as soon as it arrived.
When we were ready to 44 , I was feeling very good about myself and then she asked for a 45 . It was then that I had to 46 myself and all the hidden bias (偏见) that I had towards this 47.
She wasn’t wrong, but my reluctance(不愿)must have 48 . I held her in my arms carelessly and 49 I felt shame. She thanked me for lunch and then left.
I 50 there for a moment and realized that I had 51 to give this woman the one thing that cost 52 —love. I ran after the woman and caught up with her and asked her if I could give her a 53 hug and she agreed. I gave the woman the best one I’ve ever given anyone. “That’s getting it right,” she said and her big 54 lit my path as we parted.
The 55 I learned was that if you’re going to give, then give it your all and get it right the first time.
1.A. happy B. dirty C. nervous D. small
2.A. ran B. arrived C. stopped D. hid
3.A. invited B. pushed C. forced D. wished
4.A. refused B. returned C. left D. agreed
5.A. watch over B. get hold of C. reach for D. catch up with
6.A. customer B. shopper C. waitress D. traveler
7.A. and B. but C. or D. so
8.A. thirsty B. sleepy C. tired D. hungry
9.A. leave B. rest C. move D. apologize
10.A. break B. gift C. hug D. partner
11.A. believe B. face C. hurt D. introduce
12.A. behavior B. nation C. person D. district
13.A. gone B. shown C. resulted D. remained
14.A. slowly B. again C. gradually D. soon
15.A. stood B. cried C. lay D. drank
16.A. decided B. hoped C. tried D. failed
17.A. anything B. nothing C. something D. everything
18.A. real B. quiet C. brave D. safe
19.A. teeth B. smile C. feet D. mouth
20.A. fact B. information C. lesson D. expression
— Do you mind if I play some rock music now, Peter?
— Andy is sleeping now.
A.Sorry,I’d rather you didn’t B.You are not allowed here
C.Great!I love music D.No,you can’t
