People are being attracted to Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up large amounts 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 Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal information 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 people think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which was about selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. 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 that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy is only the beginning, which is why I’m considering stopping using it. Facebook is a convenient 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.According to the text, Facebook is ____________.
A. losing more customers B. becoming a more useful site
C. improving its service gradually D. stealing and selling users’ information
2.At the beginning Facebook’s business model includes selling ____________.
A. its service B. ads
C. its products D. personal information
3.Why do Facebook make changes to its rule?
A. To provide better service to its users.
B. To follow the Federal guidelines.
C. To encourage its users’ communication.
D. To gain its users’ more personal information.
4.What is the author’s attitude toward Facebook?
A. Admirable. B. Negative.
C. Unclear. D. Supportable.
For the past 100 years, people believed middle age to be around 50 years old. This is a time when we start to grow old. However, new research says we have to change this. A study from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIAS) in Austria and Stony Brook University in New York says middle age now starts at 60 or even 65, or older. Why?
The biggest reason is that we are living longer. We are also healthier, we have better diets, we exercise more and we have more money to live in a nicer lifestyle. The IIAS said, ＂Since life expectancy has increased over the past several decades, and are continuing to increase, people once considered old should actually be viewed as more middle aged.＂
The study was not a worldwide one so perhaps not everyone in all countries can say they are middle aged when they are 65. The researchers looked at populations in 39 European countries, so this is good news for Europeans. Britain’s National Health Service warned against looking at this study and believing it to be 100 percent true. It said the researchers did not look at things which could reduce life expectancy: ＂We don’t know whether, for example, they factored (把……因素包括进去) in the possible impact of being unable to treat infections because of rising antibiotic (抗生素) resistance, or the increased numbers of people with diabetes (糖尿病) due to obesity.＂ It recommended healthy living, eating and exercise as a way to live longer.
1.What do people believe for the past century?
A. People start to grow old when they are about 50.
B. Middle age is far beyond 50 years old.
C. People will die at around 50 years old.
D. Middle age is a time when people become ill.
2.What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. The main reason why we are living longer.
B. The reason why middle age now starts at 60 or even 65.
C. Life expectancy has increased.
D. Middle aged people were once considered old.
3.What do Britain’s National Health Service’s words mean?
A. It believes the study to be true.
B. To live longer, one should live a healthy life.
C. There are more people who suffer from diabetes due to obesity.
D. The researchers didn’t factor in the possible impact.
4.What is the writer’s attitude towards the study?
A. Indifferent. B. Supportive.
C. Negative. D. Objective.
A couple in England could lose their home due to the fact that they want to live with their pets. Clive and Rose Restall live in their rented home in southwest England with their twenty-one pet guinea pigs (豚鼠). The owners of the house, Plymouth Community Homes (PCH), say the couple have too many pets in the house. PCH want Mr and Mrs Restall to get rid of the guinea pigs. A spokesperson from the PCH said the number of animals in the couple’s house is unacceptable. The spokesperson added that the number of pets is not allowed in the contract the couple signed to rent the house. The PCH warned Mr and Mrs Restall that they must move out of the house if they do not get rid of the guinea pigs.
Mr Restall, 57, said he needs his guinea pigs because they have helped him fight cancer. Doctors told him he had cancer in 2010. Soon after, he bought several guinea pigs to help take his mind off his cancer. He said his new pets made him happy again because they made him forget about his cancer. He told reporters that his guinea pigs are mystic ― they have special powers to help people. He said the animals have even helped his neighbours with personal problems. Mr Restall spoke about his pets, saying, ＂They’ve helped me through my cancer. They’ve helped me cope.＂ He added, ＂The local community love them just as much as I do. I sometimes loan them out to people if they need someone to talk to.＂
1.Mr and Mrs Restall could lose their rented home because ____________.
A. there are too many guinea pigs in their home
B. the owners want them to kill the guinea pigs
C. the animals in the couple’s house is unacceptable
D. they don’t want to let go of their pets
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Mr Restall had cancer at 57.
B. The guinea pigs helped Mr Restall feel relieved.
C. Mr Restall’s neighbours are tired of the guinea pigs.
D. Guinea pigs can cure people of cancer.
3.What does the word ＂loan＂ in the last paragraph mean?
A. Send. B. Keep.
C. Lend. D. Take.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. We can fight with cancer with pets.
B. We should treat our pets well.
C. A couple might lose their home if they hold on to their pets.
D. Pets are our friends.
The Harvard Student-led Walking Tour
We welcome our neighbors to stop by the Harvard University Events & Information Centre, located in the Holyoke Centre Arcade at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge.
Let a student take you and your family, school, or organization on an engaging, hour-long free historical tour of the Harvard campus. The tours leave from the Events & Information Centre. Not only will you discover the location of fascinating exhibition and programmers on campus, you will also see Harvard’s rich sampling of American history and architecture from the colonial period to the present.
Schedule of Tours
Tours leave the Events & Information Centre at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday through the academic year (February 4 through May 2; September 23 through December 16).Summer tours (June 24 through August 15)are offered at 10 a.m.,11:15 a.m., 2 p.m., and 3:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Reservations for special tours of 20 or more people may be made by calling the Events & Information Centre at (617)495-1573 or emailing icenter@ camail.Harvard.edu.
NOTE：Prospective(未来的) students may take tours originating at the Harvard Admission Office, located at Byerly Hall on 8 Garden Street in Cambridge. From April through August, the Admissions staff conducts an information session at l0 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. tour. Monday through Friday. For more information on tours for prospective students, please call at(617)495-1551.
Harvard University Events & Information Centre.
1.The above ad is mainly intended for ____________.
A. foreign visitors B. high school students
C. teachers D. Harvard University’s students
2.How many summer tours are offered every week?
A. 4. B. 6.
C. 20. D. 24.
3.A student who wants more information on tours may ____________.
A. call (617)495-1573 B. call (617)495-1551
C. email icenter@ camail.Harvard.edu D. go to the Events & Information Centre
假如你是中学生李华，你的美国朋友Jack在上次给你的电子邮件中抱怨最近自己眼睛近视了。请你给他用英语回一封电子邮件，内容如下：
1．介绍你们班同学近视的情况；
2．分析造成近视的原因；
3．给Jack提出一些保护视力的建议。
注意：1.词数100-120；邮件的开头和结尾已为你写好。
2．近视：shortsighted adj. shortsightedness n.
Dear Jack，
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Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同学写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，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。
Last month, I, together with my parents, were invited to my uncle in the USA. My uncle, who moved America when I was five, has been living there for nearly ten years. He meets us at the airport. I was excited while I set foot on the land of America. In the following days, my parents and I visited some places of interests and took photos in the front of the Statue of Liberty. We both enjoyed visiting the Museum of National History because it great enriched our knowledge. For me, this is one of the most amazing trips I have never made in my life.
