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.

There’s a case to be made, from things like Google search figures, that Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken – you know, the one about two paths diverging (分开) in a wood – is the most popular in modern history. Yet people still can’t agree what it means. On the surface, it’s a fridge-magnet cliché (陈词滥调) on the importance of taking risks and choosing the road less travelled. But many argue it slyly mocks (暗讽) that American belief in the individual’s power to determine his or her future. After all, the poet admits that both paths look roughly similarly well-travelled. And how could he be sure he took the right one? He’ll never know where the other leads. Looking back at our life histories, we tell ourselves we faced important dilemmas and chose wisely. But maybe only because it’s too awful to admit we’re stumbling (跌跌撞撞地走) mapless among the trees, or that our choices don’t make much difference.

Two psychologists, Karalyn Enz and Jennifer Talarico, throw light on these matters in a new study with a title that nods to Frost: Forks In The Road. They sought to clarify how people think about “turning points” versus “transitions” in life. A turning point, by their definition, is a moment that changes your future – deciding to leave a job or marriage, say – but often isn’t visible from the outside, at least at first. “Transitions” involve big external changes: going to university, marrying, emigrating (迁出). Sometimes the two go together, as when you move to a new place and realize it’s where you belong. (“New Yorkers are born all over the country,” Delia Ephron said, “and then they come to New York and it hits them: oh, that’s who I am.”) But it’s turning points we remember as most significant, Enz and Talarico conclude, whether or not they also involve transitions.

The distinction is useful: it underlines how the most outwardly obvious life changes aren’t always those with the biggest impact. Hence the famous “focusing illusion”, which describes how we exaggerate (夸大) the importance of a single factor on happiness: you switch jobs, or spouses, only to discover you brought the same troublesome old you to the new situation. Before it became a joke, “midlife crisis” referred to a turning point that happens because your circumstances don’t change, when your old life stops feeling meaningful. Turning points can be caused by mundane (世俗的) things – the offhand remark that makes you realize you’re in the wrong life – or by nothing at all.

1.Why do some people think the poem makes fun of the American belief?

A. Because the two roads are more or less similar in the poet’s view.

B. Because Americans believe they can decide their future themselves.

C. Because Americans can find their way easily in a forest just with a map.

D. Because Americans surely know which road to take without consideration.

2.Which of the following can be considered as a transition?

A. Your experience of midlife crisis.

B. Your choice of the road to take.

C. Your decision to travel abroad.

D. Your move into a new flat.

3.What can we infer from this passage?

A. Turning points involving transitions are often remembered as most significant.

B. The biggest impact is often characterized with obvious outside changes.

C. A fundamental change is often affected by more than one single factor.

D. We can rid ourselves of the unpleasant past with the change of a job.

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Is our fate in our own hands?

B. Must people make changes in life?

C. Should we choose the road less travelled?

D. Are turning points connected with transitions?

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Marketing Professionals

A major US corporation in the health and nutritional industry has announced the opening of its direct selling division in Taiwan.

The company offers the most lucrative compensation plan in the industry and has paid over NTD (新台币) 3.5 billion in commissions in just 6 years in the US. We are a group of top earners.

Applicants should meet the requirements:

(1) Taiwan citizen

(2) Have experience in marketing

(3) Aggressive, energetic, and willing to learn

If you believe you have what it takes to develop this business, please dial 2742-6996.

Job B

An international company requires a Service Technician

To service and maintain electronic medical equipment, applicants should have degree in electronics. The selected candidate will have a training program to be conducted by our manufacturer's trained technical personnel.

Interested candidates please apply immediately with a resume(简历) and mail to P.O. Box 594. Or telephone Ms Chang at 2945-0027 for an immediate interview.

Job C

Wanted: Reporters & Editors

Qualifications:

* Strong command of English language

* Chinese speaking and reading ability a must

* A university degree

* Journalism education and/or experience preferred

* Flexible working hours (30 hours per week)

* Good work environment and medical insurance, etc.

Fax resume and work samples, if any, to The China Post at(03) 2595-7952.

Job D

Southeastern Travel Services Tour Guides

Duties: To conduct escorted tours(陪游) for foreign visitors;to assist with travel and transportation arrangements.

Qualifications: Good appearance. High school diploma.

Good knowledge of English. Outgoing personality.

Dial 2703-2172 after 3 p.m.. Ask for Gary.

1.Which of the following is required for marketing professionals?

A. A university degree. B. Good appearance.

C. Good computer knowledge. D. Some marketing experience.

2.Wendy is good at Chinese and doesn't like to work on fixed schedules. Which of the four jobs might be suitable for her?

A. Job A. B. Job B. C. Job C. D. Job D.

3.Charles has a strong interest in technology service. Which phone number should he dial?

A. 2742-6996. B. 2945-0027.

C. 2595-7952. D. 2703-2172.

4.Mary has attractive looks and a good command of English with an outgoing character. Which of the following would she choose?

A. Job A. B. Job B. C. Job C. D. Job D.

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