People are being tricked into Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information.
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 Facebook 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 your 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 everyone 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 them. 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 cancelling 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 know. 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 users who want to get married.
B. It earns money by putting on advertisements.
C. It makes money 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 unwilling 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 provide better service to its users.
B. To obey the Federal guidelines.
C. To improve its users’ connection
D. To expand its business.
4. Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
A. He is dissatisfied with its present service.
B. He finds many of its users untrustworthy.
C. He doesn’t want his personal data badly used.
D. He is upset by its frequent rule changes.
Traditionally, across the world, boys and girls attend a mixed school, where they study together. But boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to correspond to(和…相符) the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man".
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, head master of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when girls do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around. "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine（女性的） and prefer the modern genre （类型） in which violence and sexism are major themes," James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel that they had to be "masterful and in charge" in relationships. "In mixed schools, boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported.
1.The author believes that a single-sex school would __________.
A. force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men"
B. help boys to be more competitive in schools.
C. encourage boys to express their emotions more freely
D. naturally strengthen boys’ traditional image of a man
2.It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys __________.
A. behave more responsibly.
B. grow up more healthily.
C. perform relatively better.
D. receive a better education.
3.According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is __________.
A. teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys
B. boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted
C. boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in
D. teaching can be designed to promote boys' team spirit
4.What does the underlined word “acute” in paragraph 8” mean?
A. lovely B. sharp C. serious D. dull
It's time for your family to relax and have fun! The following family adventures have links for you to get more information．
Take the Rides of Your Life
Visit Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, to seek thrills "Even though it's located off the beaten track, experts regularly praise Cedar Point as the best overall theme park of the country," says U．S．News & World Report．The park calls itself the roller coaster capital of the world, and with 16 to choose from, it's hard to argue．It's open daily from May 10 through Labor Day; weekends only from Labor Day through November 2．
Tickets start at $ 48．99 per person if purchased online．
http://www．cedarpoint,com．
Wander Free on a Dude farm
Dust off your cowboy boots and ready your cowboy hats for a visit to this Rocky Mountains paradise．Located in Augusta, Montana, "The farm has everything an aspiring cowboy or girl could long for," says Sunset magazine, including hiking trails, fishing trips, campfires with sing-alongs, and, of course, horseback rides．The large farm operates from June through September; kids-only and adults-only
programs are available．
Total cost starts at $ 1,360 per adult, $ 1,276 per teen, and $ 1,168 per child．
http://www．triplejranch．com．
Dig for Dinosaurs
Most kids （and adults） love dinosaurs, and to make their wildest dreams come true, head to Fruita, Colorado．The Museum of Western Colorado offers Dino Digs for children ages five and older．You can choose from one-, three-, and five-day expeditions．"Imagine how your child will feel when she helps unearth the fossilized（化石） bones of ancient species," says Outside magazine．It lasts from May to October．
Digs start at $ 125 per person．
http://www．museumofwesternco．com
Surf Sand Dunes
Swap your snowboard for a sand-board, and head to Sand Master Park in Florence, Oregon．Real Simple recommends learning the basics at this private dune park, which offers board rentals and lessons - often taught by world-champion sand boarders．Then you can hit the "slopes" to test your skills．From March to June, and September to November．
Rentals for a sand-board start at $ 10 per day; lessons start at $ 45 an hour per person．
http://www．sandmasterpark．com．
1.What is special about Cedar Point?
A. You can visit Cedar Point on weekends．
B. It has 16 roller coasters for you to choose from．
C. You can help unearth the fossilized bones of dinosaurs．
D. It offers lessons taught by world-champion sand boarders．
2. If you have a 3-day holiday in April, which of the following may interest you most?
A. Take the Rides of Your Life
B. Wander Free on a Dude farm
C. Dig for Dinosaurs
D. Surf Sand Dunes
3.Where will you probably find this passage?
A. A science fiction．
B. An adventure storybook．
C. A travel magazine．
D. A theme park advertisement．
It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the top step.
“Any old papers, lady？” asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals(凉鞋), wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich？”
“Am I rich? Pity, no！”
I looked at my wornout slipcovers(椅套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer(茶碟)carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” They left after that, holding their papers against the wind. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred(搅动)the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.
1.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A．Lady, are you rich?
B．A story of Thanksgiving Day
C．Don't forget how rich you are
D．Does cups and saucers match well?
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A．The girl thought the writer was rich just because she wanted to make the writer happy.
B．The writer had thought she wasn't rich because her supplies were not expensive.
C．If cups and saucers match well, they are a best pair even though cheap.
D．After hearing what they said, the writer seemed to understand what a rich life was.
3.The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to________.
A．show that she was a kindhearted lady
B．remind her that she shouldn't forget how rich she was
C．leave room for readers to think about what being rich is
D．prove that she had understood what meant being rich
4.It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on________.
A．how much money you have made
B．what attitude you have had towards life
C．the way you help others
D．your social relationship
书面表达
近期英国伊顿公学师生一行将来我校进行交流访问。我校将组织一次参观活动从而让他们更好地了解绵阳。现有两种方案，一种是绵阳博物馆（Mianyang Museum）,一种是江油李白故里（Li Bai’s hometown）。假如你是李华，是参与接待的学生代表，请你给组织活动的老师Danny写一封100左右词的信，内容包括；
1、选择其中的一种方案; 2、陈述理由; 3、相关准备;
注意：信的开头已给出（不计入词数）。
Dear Danny,
I am extremely delighted to have a chance to receive our distinguished guests from UK on behalf of all the students. I’m writing to _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Yours ,
Li Hua
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以下作文。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），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：在错的词下划一横线，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’s no surprise that we may have different opinions in organizing activities. When I have a different opinion, I may choose to give it up and respect an opinion of the majority.
The main reason for my choice is that I am great influenced by a special culture when grow up. In this culture which collectivism is emphasized, I tent to sacrifice my own interest to the group benefit. Once we are left to decide whether to have a picnic in a park and to go to a museum. I preferred to go to a museum when most of my classmates wanted to go for a picnic. Without hesitations, I decided to follow him and we did have lots of fun that day. Sometimes giving up a little can mean getting more.
