Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.

In fact, it’s likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a husband or wife, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a police or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you’ve never intended to be seen.

Some experts tell us boundaries are healthy, and it’s important to reveal (暴露) yourself to your friends, family and lovers in stages, at proper times. But few boundaries could remain. The digital equipment makes it easy for strangers to know who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can even reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.

   The key question is: Does that matter?

   When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey shows that 60 percent of them feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”

But people often say one thing and do another. Only a tiny number of Americans change the behaviors in an effort to protect their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track your automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests, and these tests show that the majority of Americans will not keep personal secret just in order to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券)

   But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health: when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone, do you wish you’d done more to protect it. So, when it comes to privacy, why do so many people say one thing and do another? And what can be done about it?

What would be the experts advise on the relationships between friends?

   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. There should be fewer secrets between friends.

The author says “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret” because ______.

   A. modern society has finally entered a much opened society

   B. people leave privacy around when using modern technology

   C. there are always people who are curious about others’ affairs

   D. many search engines profit by selling people’s privacy

According to Alessandro Acquits, most Americans _________.

   A. like to exchange their personal secret for the commercial benefit

   B. aren’t interested in the pitiful commercial benefit to keep their personal secret

   C. pay no attention to their personal secret for the commercial benefit

   D. can’t keep the balance between their personal secret and the commercial benefit

The best title for the passage could be _________?

   A. Is Privacy As Important As Health

   B. What Can Be Done to Protect the Privacy

   C. Does Privacy Matter

   D. Does Modern Technology Reveal Privacy

Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.

In fact, it’s likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a husband or wife, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a police or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you’ve never intended to be seen.

Some experts tell us boundaries are healthy, and it’s important to reveal (暴露) yourself to your friends, family and lovers in stages, at proper times. But few boundaries could remain. The digital equipment makes it easy for strangers to know who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can even reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.

   The key question is: Does that matter?

   When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey shows that 60 percent of them feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”

But people often say one thing and do another. Only a tiny number of Americans change the behaviors in an effort to protect their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track your automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests, and these tests show that the majority of Americans will not keep personal secret just in order to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券)

   But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health: when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone, do you wish you’d done more to protect it. So, when it comes to privacy, why do so many people say one thing and do another? And what can be done about it?

1. What would be the experts advise on the relationships between friends?

   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. There should be fewer secrets between friends.

2. The author says “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret” because ______.

   A. modern society has finally entered a much opened society

   B. people leave privacy around when using modern technology

   C. there are always people who are curious about others’ affairs

   D. many search engines profit by selling people’s privacy

3. According to Alessandro Acquits, most Americans _________.

   A. like to exchange their personal secret for the commercial benefit

   B. aren’t interested in the pitiful commercial benefit to keep their personal secret

   C. pay no attention to their personal secret for the commercial benefit

   D. can’t keep the balance between their personal secret and the commercial benefit

4. The best title for the passage could be _________?

   A. Is Privacy As Important As Health

   B. What Can Be Done to Protect the Privacy

   C. Does Privacy Matter

   D. Does Modern Technology Reveal Privacy

 

 

 (10·上海A篇)

The elephant was lying heavily on its side, fast asleep. A few dogs started barking at it. The elephant woke up in a terrible anger: it chased the dogs into the village where they ran for safety.

That didn't stop the elephant. It destroyed a dozen houses and injured several people. The villagers were scared and angry. Then someone suggested calling Parbati, the elephant princess.

   Parbati Barua's father was a hunter of tigers and an elephant tamer. He taught Parbati to ride an elephant before she could even walk. He also taught her the dangerous art of the elephant round-up -- how to catch wild elephants.

   Parbati hasn't always lived in the jungle. After a happy childhood hunting with her father, she was sent to boarding school in the city. But Parbati never got used to being there and many years later she went back to her old fife. "Life in the city is too dull. Catching elephants is an adventure and the excitement lasts for days after the chase," she says.

   But Parbati doesn't catch elephants just for fun. "My work," she says, "is to rescue man from the elephants, and to keep the elephants safe from man." And this is exactly what Parbati has been doing for many years. Increasingly, the Indian elephant is angry: for many years, illegal hunters have attacked it and its home in the jungle has been reduced to small pieces of land. It is now fighting back. Whenever wild elephants enter a tea garden or a village, Parbati is called to

guide the animals back to the jungle before they can kill.

   The work of an elephant tamer also involves love and devotion. A good elephant tamer will spend hours a day singing love songs to a newly captured elephant. "Eventually they grow to love their tamers and never forget them. They are also more loyal than humans," she said, as she climbed up one of her elephants and sat on the giant, happy animal. An elephant princess indeed!

65. For Parbati, catching elephants is mainly to             .

   A. get long lasting excitement              B. keep both man and elephants safe

   C. send them back to the jungle             D. make the angry elephants tame

66. Before Parbati studied in a boarding school,             .

   A. she spent her time hunting with her father

   B. she learned how to sing love songs

   C. she had already been called an elephant princess

   D. she was taught how to hunt tigers

67. Indian elephants are getting increasingly angry and they revenge because __________.

   A. they are caught and sent for heavy work                

   B. illegal hunters capture them and kill them

   C. they are attacked and their land gets limited

   D. dogs often bark at them and chase them

68. The passage starts with an elephant story in order to explain that in India _________.    

   A. people easily fall victim to elephants' attacks

   B. the man-elephant relationship is getting worse

   C. elephant tamers are in short supply

   D. dogs are as powerful as elephants

  

Sleepy Hollow was a quiet village near New York's Hudson River. One day long ago, a teacher named Ichabod Crane moved there. He was tall and skinny, with long, pointy nose. His clothes flapped around him when he walked. Ichabod was an odd bird, but he thought very highly of himself!

       Like other teachers then, Ichabod moved around. He would spend a week with one family and move on. Often, these families amused themselves by telling ghost stories. Sleepy Hollow had many such stories, because people believed that the area was haunted.

       The most famous local ghost was the Headless Horseman. People said he was a soldier whose head was knocked off by a cannonball. He haunted the roads and woods, looking for his lost head. He traveled at night, returning to his burial place in the churchyard before morning. This story frightened Ichabod the most.

       Ichabod wanted to marry a wealthy girl. He had his eye on one of his students, Katrina Van Tassel. She was the daughter of a rich farmer. Ichabod had a rival for Katrina. He was a big, broad-shouldered fellow named Brom Bones. Brom was very mischievous, always ready for a flight and for fun.

       One day, the Van Tassels held a large party. Ichabod went and found Brom already there, Folks sat around and told stories. Brom told of racing the Headless Horseman near Sleepy Hollow, The ghost had suddenly disappeared at the churchyard bridge, Ichabod shivered as he listened to the story. Brom watched him and smiled.

       After the party, Ichabod headed home on his old horse, Gunpowder. It was growing dark, and the road was lonely. Ichabod was feeling nervous. Suddenly, he saw a large form in the road ahead. He couldn't see clearly in the gloom, but there was no doubt it was a horseman. “Who-o-o-o are you?” croaked Ichabod. The shadowy figure made no reply.

       Ichabod began to sweat. Suddenly, Gunpowder dashed forward.  The other horseman started off as well. The two riders raced toward the bridge near the churchyard.

       “I’ll be safe if I can just cross the bridge,” thought Ichabod.

       When he reached the bridge, Ichabod breathed a sign of relief. But the other horseman didn't disappear. Instead, the ghostly figure stood up in the stirrups and threw its head. The head hit Ichabod, knocking him off his horse.

       Ichabod was never seen in Sleepy Hollow again. Only a shattered pumpkin was found near the bridge. Some people said that the Headless Horseman had carried off Ichabod. Years later, someone saw him in New York City. Brom married Katrina, and he always laughed whenever anyone mentioned the pumpkin.

1．What does the underlined word "rival" in Para. 4 mean?

       A．enemy                 B．partner                C．competitor           D．student

2．What probably happened to Ichabod?

       A．He was scared to death and lost his head too.

       B．He didn't dare to stay, so he escaped to somewhere else.

       C．He was so annoying that people drove him out of Sleepy Hollow.

       D．He raced toward the bridge with a horseman and later was carried off.

3．We can conclude from the passage that        .

       A．Sleepy Hollow is a terrifying place.

       B．It was Brom who played tricks on Ichabod with pumpkin.

       C．The Headless Horseman always appeared at night to murder people.

       D．Ichabod was the only teacher in there, so he thought very highly of himself.

4．What is the author's attitude towards Ichabod?

       A．Negative.       B．Positive.       C．Neutral.       D．Hated.

When I was a child, I was shocked at the idea that my sisters could be my best friends. Now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. At the time, the idea of my two sisters being my closest friends seemed strange to me. We fought all the time over toys, food, attention, what to watch on television—— you name it, we quarreled about it at some point. How could my sisters be my best friends? They weren’t the same age as I. We all had our own friends in school.

My mother never let the three of us forget that sisters are lifelong friends. Her wish like most parents’ was to give us something that she never had. Growing up as an only child, she longed for siblings. When she gave birth to three daughters, the fulfillment of her dream had only just begun. She had given each of us a gift and she wanted to make sure we did not take that gift for granted. She would frequently tell us how lucky we were. But there were other, more subtle ways that she encouraged us to grow closer. She never showed favoritism to one daughter over the other, as not to cause jealousy or bitterness between sisters. She never showed favoritism to one daughter, skating, shopping and swimming, so that we developed common interests. And when we were teenagers, Mom always punished us equally, giving us yet another bonding experience.

We didn't always get along beautifully and fought just like any other siblings. But somewhere in between Mom's lectures, the family vacations and the shared memories, we realized that our mother was right. Today I share things with my sisters that I do with no one else. My sister Cindy and I ran the New York City Marathon together, side by side, even holding hands when we crossed the finish line. When my sister Karen got married, I was her maid of honor. Cindy and I traveled through Europe together and even shared an apartment for two years. The three of us trust each other with our greatest secrets.

       It was twenty-three years ago that my mother first asked me who my two best friends were. Today she doesn't have to. She already knows.

1．As a child, the author was shocked at her mother’s idea because          .

       A．her sisters seemed strange to her

       B．her sisters didn’t like to be her friends

       C．none of the girls had their own friends

       D．she and her sisters shared little in common

2．The underlined word“siblings”in the passage probably means           .

       A．sisters                 B．parents                C．daughters            D．friends

3．How did the author’s mother encourage her three daughters to grow closer?

       A．She punished her daughter differently.

       B．She showed equal love to her daughters.

       C．She encouraged her daughters to do sports.

       D．She often took her daughters to many places.

4．The best title of the passage could be              .

       A．The Greatest Gift                                 B．Mother’s Love

       C．Growing Experiences                           D．Unforgettable Memories