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 an advanced software called “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 fastestgrowing 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 “beacon” 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(匿名的) 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.
1.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 “beacon”
2.All of the following statements are not true 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 fastestgrowing business 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 the user's information
3.What’s the writer’s attitude to the issue?
A. neutral B. optimistic C. worried D. indifferent
I turned 16 on Friday, but the Driver’s License Office in my small hometown was only open on Tuesday, so I had to wait through that extremely long weekend and an endless Monday before going in for my examination.
I came to the Driver’s License Office half an hour earlier that Tuesday morning, pacing back and forth on the worn porch waiting for the office to open at eight. I reviewed the driver’s manual for the hundredth time. I was ready. I knew the manual backward and forward; I had made an “A” in my driver’s training course, and I was a genius behind the wheel.
Finally, the door opened and a weary-looking man in a brown uniform let me in.
“Let me guess. You want to take the driver’s test.” his voice was not enthusiastic.
“Yes!” I answered in excitement.
“Ok, fill this out, and if you pass we’ll go for a drive.”
I grabbed the test and rushed to the desk where I filled it out in record time. A quick check showed that my paper was perfect.
“Let’s get in the car.” He tossed me a set of keys, and I slid behind the wheel. Everything was going smoothly as we pulled out of the empty parking lot. I signaled a right hand turn, and we were on a deserted street. This was going to be easy.
“Turn left and go up Young Blood Hill,” he ordered. My hometown is in the mountains, and Young Blood Hill was almost vertical (垂直的). As I eased up the steep hill and came to a stop at the top, I heard the car’s engine die. My heart sank. I would have to start it again without rolling back down the hill. I swallowed hard and turned the key; as I moved my foot from the brake, the car began to roll. I suppose I could have rolled all the way back to the bottom except for one thing. There was something behind me which stopped my roll with a rough shake and crash of glass—a police car.
The policeman wrote me a ticket as I looked over the damage, and the man from the Driver’s License Office slid behind the wheel. I waited until we had parked before I asked how long a person had to wait before taking the test again.
1.What time does “that Tuesday morning” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The morning when he made an “A” in his driver’s training course.
B. The morning when he knew the driver’s manual perfectly well.
C. The Tuesday morning right before his 16th birthday.
D. The first Tuesday morning immediately after his 16th birthday.
2.Why didn’t the car roll back to the bottom?
A. It hit a police car.
B. The engine died.
C. The writer braked it hard.
D. The man from the Driver’s License Office helped make it stop.
3.From the underlined sentence “I grabbed the test and rushed to the desk where I filled it out in record time”, we can know that ______ .
A. the writer didn’t like the man from the Driver’s License Office.
B. the writer was excited and eager to go for the driver’s test.
C. time for the test was tight.
D. the test paper was very easy.
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The man from the Driver’s License Office got a ticket.
B. The policeman drove the car away after the accident.
C. The writer failed the driving test.
D. The writer didn’t want to take the driving test again.
The Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, is the best place in Europe for discovering dinosaur bones. Dinosaur Farm Museum was established in 1993. Since then, the museum has introduced the study of old bones to many more people.
What we offer
Visitors can enjoy our displays, or watch us cleaning dinosaur bones and other fossils found on the island’s beaches.
The museum has a variety of different fossils, many of them never displayed to the public before. As more are discovered all the time, you can be sure of seeing something new each time you visit.
We have a free Fossil Identification Service, so you can bring in any fossils you have and find out what they are. In addition, we have a reasonably-priced Museum Shop, where you can buy a souvenir of your visit. You could also bring a picnic and relax in our special picnic area.
Activities
Fossil hunts are organized from the museum and run all year round. Groups of up to 25 are guided on a local beach where they can search for fossils. All these hunts are fully licensed and insured, and guides can help to identify any fossils found and point out things of interest.
Due to the popularity of these hunts, all trips must be booked by a personal visit to Dinosaur Farm Museum.
Did you know…?
The BBC programme “Live from Dinosaur Island” was filmed along the coast here, and Dinosaur Farm Museum was the base for the television crew.
Find out more
Check out our website at www.isleofwight/dinosaurfarm to learn in detail how we dig for dinosaurs. You can also read about the many different kinds of dinosaurs which lived in this area, which was connected to Europe 120 million years ago.
1.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A. The Isle of Wight is the best place in the world for discovering dinosaur bones.
B. There is a special picnic area for vistors.
C. The museum has a variety of different fossils which have been displayed to the public before.
D. Vistors can also find many different kinds of dinosaurs that live there.
2.One can book a fossil hunt ______.
A. through a BBC program
B. through the museum’s website
C. by making a call to the museum
D. by visiting the museum personally
3.Which of the following is free of charge at the museum?
A. Food for a picnic.
B. Attending fossil hunts.
C. A souvenir of the museum.
D. Having fossils identified.
4.The passage is most probably taken from ______.
A. a conference interview
B. a travel magazine
C. a history book
D. a science fiction
Soccer is played by millions of people all over the world, but there have only been few players who were truly great. How did these players get that way---was it through training and practice, or are great players “born, not made”? First, these players came from places that have had famous stars in the past---players that a young boy can look up to and try to imitate. In the history of soccer, only seven countries have ever won the World Cup---three from South America and four from Western Europe. There has never been a great national team---or a really great player---from North America or from Asia. Second, these players have all had years of practice in the game. Alfredo Di Stefano was the son of a soccer player, as was Pele. Most players begin playing the game at the age of three or four.
Finally, many great players come from the same kind of neighborhood---a poor, crowded area where a boy’s dream is not to be a doctor, lawyer, or businessman, but to become a rich, famous athlete or entertainer. For example, Liverpool, which produced the Beatles, had one of the best English soccer teams in recent years. Pele practiced in the street with a “ball” made of rags. And George Best learned the tricks that made him famous by bouncing the ball off a wall in the slums(贫民窟) of Belfast.
All great players have a lot in common, but that doesn’t explain why they are great. Hundreds of boys played in those Brazilian streets, but only one became Pele. The greatest players are born with some unique quality that sets them apart from all the others.
1.According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?
A. Soccer is popular all over the world, but truly great players are few.
B. Millions of people all over the world are playing soccer, but only seven countries have ever had famous stars.
C. Only seven countries from South America and Western Europe have ever had national teams.
D. Soccer seems the least popular in North America and Asia.
2.The world “tricks” at the end of Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. experience B. training
C. skills D.cheating
3.The Brazilian streets are mentioned to show that ______.
A. a great soccer player may be born in a slum area
B. people in poor areas are born with some unique quality
C. children in poor areas start playing football at the age of three or four
D. famous soccer players live in slum areas
4.The writer mentions all the factors that may affect a soccer player’s success except ______.
A. his family background B. his neighborhood
C. his character D. his practice
书面表达
最近你的学校的英文报刊Growth在征稿,话题是 “父母是不是最好的老师”。同学们有人认为是，也有人认为不是。请你根据下表写一篇稿件并简要发表你的观点。
是的理由 | 不是的理由 |
1.教会我们生活技能 | 1.容易溺爱我们 |
2.教育我们如何做人 | 2.有时不听取我们的观点 |
注意：1．词数100左右；
2．稿件的开头已给出，不计入总词数；
3. 可适当发挥，使行文连贯。
4．参考词汇：溺爱：spoil
The students in our school hold different opinions on whether our parents are our best teachers.
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短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分
It was raining hardly outside, that made it difficult for me to go home for lunch. Just as I was wondering what I should eat at noon, I saw a familiar figure passed by our classroom. I rushed out and it was my mother, who is already in the fifties, that brought me lunch, in spite the heavy rain. In China, many parents make great sacrifices for our children. But what had the children done in return？All too often, most children just take it for granted that their parents should serve for them unconditionally. My dear mum or dad, thank you very much for bringing me up. How shall I do for you?
