Can you imagine a stranger will read your e-mails without your permission or scan the website you’ve visited or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phones bills? All of the things may happen to you one day.
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 spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen or even do something that may bring a disaster to you.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, and that it’s important to reveal to friends, family and lovers at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain nowadays. The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to know who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can leak the deepest thought in your mind. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter? For many Americans, the answer apparently is “No”.
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most of them say they are really concerned about losing it. And 60 percent of the respondents say they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me”.
But people say one thing and do another. Only a small 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 track automobile movements. Privacy economist Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will give up personal information such as telephone number, address, or social security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cent-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. Without privacy, one will be naked in front of others.
【小题1】What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?

My mother loves flowers. As soon as warm weather comes around, you will find her planting, watering, and weeding over everything. For a number of years we lived next door to each other, and she spent as much time in my garden as she did her own. After the flowers became plentiful each summer, she would cut colorful bouquets(花束) to enjoy inside the house -- both hers and mine. I would often come home from work and find a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers on my coffee table.

Shortly before Christmas one year, a local flower shop offered a bouquet-a-month special. It seemed to be a made-to-order gift for Mom, a great way to thank her for all of the flowers she had given me through the years.

After the holidays, in early January, I drove her to the flower shop to pick up her first month's bouquet. The small fresh colorful bouquet would hardly fill a small vase.

I was so embarrassed. However, after we returned home, she began to arrange the flowers she had received. "Mom, I'm sorry," I told her. "I can't believe how skimpy that bouquet is." She looked at me and smiled. "It's okay," she said. "It allows me to better enjoy the beauty of each one."

Mom's words helped me to realize something bigger and more important --when we have too many good things, we often fail to enjoy the beauty of each one. 

Thanks, Mom, for helping me understand that less is sometimes more.

The author bought her mother flowers to ____.

A. celebrate the coming Christmas

B. express thanks for all her mother has done

C. bring more flowers to her mother's garden

D. arrange her mother's new house

What can you infer from the passage?

A. The author couldn't afford a big bouquet.

B. The mother was not happy when receiving the bouquet.

C. The author would pick up another bouquet the next month.

D. The mother would send back the bouquet to the flower shop.

The underlined word "skimpy" in Para. 4 means ____.

A. beautiful  B. colorful    C. cheap              D. small

What did the author learn from her mother?

A. How to grow flowers.                    B. How to arrange flowers.

C. Enjoying life if possible.         D. Considering things in other ways.

A. until               B. when                C. before            D. as

Nearly everyone is shy in some ways. If shyness is making you uncomfortable, it may be time for a few lessons in self-confidence. You can build your confidence by
following some suggestions from doctors and psychologists.
Make a decision not to hold back in conversations. What you have to say is just as important as what other people say. And don’t turn down party invitations just because of your shyness.
Prepare for yourself for being with others in groups. Make a list of the good qualities you have. Then make a list of ideas, experiences, and skills you would like to share with other people . I think about what you would like to say in advance. Then say it.
If you start feeling self-conscious in a group, take a deep breath and focus your attention on other people, Remember, you are not alone. Other people are concerned about the impression they are making, too.
No one ever gets over being shy completely, but most people do learn to live with their shyness. Even entertainers admit that they often feel shy. They work at fighting their shy feelings so that they can face the cameras and the public. Just making the effort to control shyness can have many rewards. But perhaps the best reason to fight shyness is to give other people a chance to know about you.
【小题1】Where would this article probably appear?

Can you become a creative person? Can you learn to come up with great ideas or learn to create new things? The answer is yes.
The first step to becoming creative is to remove the words “I am not creative” from your vocabulary. Seriously, do not say them or do not say them even inside your head.
Now you need to start looking what other people are doing. The more you see what they are doing, the more you can get a feel for how they think, and how they come up with creative ideas.
Find a way or a place where you feel totally relaxed. This is important so you can let your mind come up with ideas. Write them down as you get them. For me a relaxing place is outside in nature where it is quiet and sunny, or when I take a long drive in my car by myself.
The last step is to write down a few ideas every day.
Repeat the process of reading and observing what similar people are doing and how they are being creative, finding a relaxing place to write down your thoughts, and writing down a few ideas every day until you start seeing this kind of results you are happy with. It may take a few weeks to a few months, but this is the training process you need to put your mind through to become creative.
Remember, looking at things from different angle(角度) can also make a big difference to creativity. Question the way that everyone else is doing something using the same method and see if being different and doing it another way will produce something cool.
【小题1】The first step to be creative is to _____.