SHANGHAI — A system to take homeless children off the streets and return them to their home communities is to be set up this year by city authorities.

“We will improve communication with the civil administrations (民政局) where these children come from, invite them to take back the kids and provide assistance to send them home,” said Ren Zshiyue, director of the social welfare division of Shanghai civil affairs bureau, on Wednesday.

This is Shanghai’s latest attempt to deal with child beggars following another initiative (开端) in December. Eight government agencies, including civil affairs, public security and city management, are taking part in the campaign, which aims to have the streets clear of child beggars by the end of this year. Officials said the police will increase patrols (巡逻) in areas where the homeless gather, such as metro stations, squares, bridges and underground passages.

Vagrant children are particularly prominent (突出) in the city. Some residents said they often see young boys and girls kneeling under flyovers, many with schoolbags on their backs, or asking money from car drivers when they stop at traffic lights. Metro station manager at the People's Square, surnamed Fei, said that at least a dozen homeless children a week were caught begging on the subway.

According to an officer surnamed Qiu at the People's Square police station, if a homeless child is found alone, they will confirm his or her identity first, and try to get in touch with the legal guardians. If children cannot give details of their background, blood samples will be taken and the information in a DNA database will be used to help trace their families.

The national database, set up in April 2009, had reunited more than 1,400 children with their parents by September. Qiu said the city's new policy on child beggars should be the most effective yet. "We could only persuade them to stop begging before, but now we can repatriate (遣返) the child with this policy," he said.

Zhang Baoyan, founder of Baobeihuijia (Baby Back Home), a volunteer group that helps search for missing children nationwide and offers support to their parents, said the campaign shows that the government is determined to put an end to children begging. But she wonders how to prevent the children becoming homeless again. "Many homeless children keep reappearing not long after leaving welfare homes, because begging has become their livelihood," she said.

The central authority began a campaign to help homeless children in December. It requires the local government in the original home communities of vagrant children to increase social security and economic support to prevent children from turning to begging. "So the campaign addresses both the symptoms and root causes. We hope child begging will disappear when the rich-poor divide is gradually narrowed," said Zhou Zheng, chairman of the social assistance center in Shanghai.

67. The main idea of the news report is _____.

A. how and where to find homeless children in Shanghai

B. Shanghai is to start a system to aid child beggars

C. Shanghai is trying to gradually narrow the rich-poor divide

D. why some homeless children are not willing to stay in welfare homes

68. The underlined word “vagrant” in Para.4 probably means “someone who _____”.

A. steals things, especially without using violence

B. is good at telling jokes and making people laugh

C. has no home, especially someone who begs

D. doesn’t do something as his job but only for pleasure or interest

69. If a homeless child can’t give details of his or her background, what will the relevant people do?

A. They will keep trying to get in touch with the legal guardians.

B. They will ask a certain family to adopt him / her for the time being.

C. He/ She will be kept in the local rescue station and waiting to be made sure of his/ her identity.

D. Blood samples will be taken and the information in a DNA database will be used to help trace their families.

70. According to the passage, all of the following is TRUE EXCEPT that _____.

A. this is Shanghai’s first attempt deal with child beggars

B. the campaign addresses both the symptoms and root causes

C. the campaign aims to have the streets clear of child beggars by the end of this year

D. Baby Back Home is a volunteer group that helps search for missing children nationwide

Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer (锁止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.

The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro- processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系统) satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.

In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,” says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum(=smallest) of  tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.

Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.

But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.

If the stolen car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.

Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep the police informed of the vehicle's movements through the car's GPS unit.

57. The remote immobilizer is fitted to a car to ______.

A. allow the car to lock automatically when stolen

B. help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief

C. prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops

D. prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner

58. By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed”, Martyn Randall suggests that ______.

A. it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing

B. self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft

C. the thief has to make use of computer technology

D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old

59. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?

A. To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.

B. To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.

C. To keep the police informed of the car's movements.

D. To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.

60. The operations centre will first ______ after receiving an alarm.

A. start the tracking system.                B. contact the car owner.

C. block the car engine.                      D. locate the missing car.

The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit – card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal Web site. Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care. On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number — or sell the information over the Internet.?

Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago,25 000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(批发商),were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157 828 to get back the information.?

Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web-only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line.

However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.?

Ask about your credit-card firm's on-line rules: Under British law, cardholders are responsible for the first US $78 of any fraudulent spending.?

And shop only at secure sites: Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers-advanced secure system.?

　　If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Web site address may also start with https:// — the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.?

Keep your password safe: Most online sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.?

What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage??

       A．A lot of stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet.?

       B．Fraud on the Internet.?

       C．Many Web sites are destroyed.?

       D．Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet.

What is the meaning of “fraud”??

       A．cheating     B．sale             C．payment         D．safety

How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you??

       A．Four. B．Three.      C．Five. D．Six.

You are shopping on the site: http://www.shopping.com,and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest doing?

       A．Order the TV set at once.?

       B．Do not buy the TV set on this site.?

       C．E-mail the site your credit-card information.?

       D．Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.

The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit－card (信用卡) fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site（非法网站）.

　 Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.

　 On－line shoppers who enter their credit－card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number—or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers (黑客) have broken down security（安全）systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25,000 customers of CD Universe, an on－line music retailer (零售商) , were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit－card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157,828 to get back the information.?

　 Credit－card firms are now fighting against on－line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web－only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on－line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated (欺骗).?

　 Ask about your credit－card firm’s on－line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent (欺骗性的) spending.

　 And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit－card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.?

　 If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right－hand corner of your screen. The Web site address may also start https: // － the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit－card information over the telephone.

　　Keep your password（密码）safe: Most on－line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.? 

What is the meaning of “fraud”??

A. Cheating. 　　　B. Sale. 　　　　C. Payment. 　　　D. Safety.? 　

How can the thieves get the information of the credit card??

A. The customers give them the information.?

B. The thieves steal the information from Web sites.?

C. The customers sell the information to them.?

D. The thieves buy the information from credit card firms.? 　　

How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you??

A. Four. 　　　　　B. Three. 　　　　C. Five. 　　　　D. Six.

You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping. com, and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest to do??

A. Order the TV set at once. ?　

B. Do not buy the TV set on this site.?

C. E－mail the site your credit－card information.?

D. Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.?

Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But, they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.
We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype. He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay. Barry Brown: “And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of 'garbage in garbage out'.”
Mister Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment. Barry Brown: “One problem with a lot of the GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it’s going to the wrong place.”
Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people’s cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called “The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS.” It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.
【小题1】In Paragraph 2, Mr. Brown mentioned his friend in the conversation to _____________.