Question

Someday a stranger will read your email without your permission or scan the website you have visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.

  In fact, it is likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without permission? It might be a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen-----the 21^st century is the equal of being caught naked.

  Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy and that it is important to reveal yourself to friends, families and lovers at appropriate time and places. But now few boundaries remain. The information you leave everywhere makes it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. Believe it or not, we live in a world where you simply can’t keep a secret. The key question is: does that matter?

  When you ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it.

  But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few refuse to offer personal information like Social Security numbers to get supermarket loyalty cards.

  But privacy (隐私) does matter—at least sometimes. It is like health: when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it is gone do you wish you had done more to protect it.

1.What does the underlined sentence in Para 2 mean?

A. People’s personal information is easily accessed without their knowing it.

B. In the 21^st century people try every means to look into others’ secrets.

C. People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age.

D. Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology.

2.Which of the statements will the psychologists probably agree with?

A. Friends should open their hearts to each other.

B. Friends should always be faithful to each other.

C. There should be a distance even between friends.  

D. The closer they are, the deeper their friendship is.

3.In the last paragraph but one, the EZ-Pass system and Social Security numbers are used as evidence to show_________.

A. Americans talk a lot but do little about privacy protection

B. Americans use various loyalty cards for business.

C. Americans rely more and more on electronic devices.

D. Americans change behaviors that might disclose their identity.

4.Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A. Privacy and Health                    B. Privacy Is Getting Lost.

C. Boundary and Friendship               D. Cherish What You Have

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述的是要重视对隐私信息的保护。忽然有一天，一个陌生人在未经允许的情况下翻看你的邮件，浏览你的购物记录或手机账单......在当今这个信息时代，隐私显得那么不堪一击，然而，对隐私的保护工作却远未跟上时代的步伐。

1.根据第一段和第二段“Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen”可知，人们的信息很容易在不知情的情况下泄露出去，故选A。

2.根据第三段“Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy and that it is important to reveal yourself to friends, families and lovers at appropriate time and places.”可知，心理学家告诉我们，保持一定的界限是健康所需，在适当的时候和地点，向朋友、家人、爱人显示真实的自己是很重要的。也就是说，即使是好朋友之间，也要保持一定的距离，故选C。

3.根据“But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy.”可知，美国人虽然口头上说很在意隐私，但他们在保护隐私方面，做的却很少。故选A。

4.A“隐私与健康”不符合文意，作者在最后知识做了一个比喻；C“界限与友谊”，文章讲的是“隐私”而不是友谊；D“珍惜所拥有的”太过宽泛，文章提醒读者重视对隐私信息的保护。故选B。

考点：信息类短文阅读