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 thought 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(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.

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 Website 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 safe: Most on-line 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. Many stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet. 

B. Too much 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” in the passage?

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.

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.

Light for the City
Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.
They bought several machines with them. These were called generators, which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.
Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.
First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city.
Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches(沟) in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.
Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.
A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.
“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.
“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.                
【小题1】The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.

American cities are similar to other cities around the world. In every country cities reflect the values of the culture. Cities contain the very best aspects of a society: opportunities for education employment and entertainment. They also contain the very worst parts of a society: violent crime, racial(种族) conflict and poverty. American cities are changing just as American society is changing.   　　

After World War II city residents became wealthier. They had more children. They needed more space. They move out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs areas near a city where people live. These are areas without many offices or factories. During the 1950s the American “dream” was to have a house in the suburbs.

　　Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in 1950s are now adults. They unlike their parents want to live in the cities. Many young professionals, doctors, lawyers and executives(主管人员) are moving back into the city. Many are single; others are married but often without children. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; they are afraid of the fuel shortage; or they just enjoy the excitement and opportunities which the city offers.

    This population shift(转变) is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.

     Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is for sure：many dying cities are alive again.

1. What does the author think of cities all over the world?

   A. They are alive.                   B. They are hopeless.

   C. They are similar                  D. They are different.

2.Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War II?

   A. Because older American cities were dying.

   B. Because they were richer and needed more space.

   C. Because cities contained the worst parts of society.

   D. Because they could hardly afford to live in the city.

3. According to the 4^th paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities ___________. 

   A. are faced with housing problems

   B. are faced to move to the suburbs

   C. want to sell their buildings

   D. need more money for daily expenses

4. We can conclude from the text that ____________.

   A. American cities are changing for the worse

   B. people have different views on American cities

   C. many people are now moving from American cities

   D. the population is decreasing in older American cities

I believe that families are not only blood relatives, but sometimes people who show up and love you when no one else will.
In May 1977, I was living in a Howard Johnson’s motel off Interstate 10 in Houston. My dad and I  41  a room with two double beds and a bathroom was too  42  for a 15-year-old girl and her father. Dad’s second marriage was   43  and my stepmother had   44  us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no  45_  what to do with me. And that’s when my other family   46 .
Barbara and Roland Beach took me into their home   47  their only daughter, Su, my best friend, asked them to. I   48   with them for the next seven years.
Barb washed my skirts the same as Su’s. She   49  I had lunch money, doctors’ appointments, help with homework and nightly hugs. Barbara and Roland attended every football game where Su and I were being cheerleaders.  50 I could tell, for the Beaches there was no  51 between Su and me; I was their daughter, too.
When Su and I 52 college they kept my room the same for the entire four years I attended school. Recently, Barb presented me with an insurance policy they bought when I first moved in with them and had continued to pay on for 23 years.
The Beaches knew  53 about me when they took me in – they had heard the whole story from Su. When I was seven, my mother died and from then on my father relied on other people to _54 his kids. Before I went to live with the Beaches I had believed that life was entirely   55__ and that love was shaky and untrustworthy. I had believed that the only person who would take care of me was me.
 56 the Beaches, I would have become a bitter, cynical (愤世嫉俗的) woman. They gave me a(n)  57 that allowed me to grow and change. They kept me from being paralyzed by my _58  , and they gave me the confidence to open my heart.
I   59  family. For me, it wasn’t the family that was there on the day I was  60 , but the one that was there for me when I was living in a Howard Johnson’s on Interstate 10.

Below are some of the heart-warming scenes that I witnessed and heard from others after the earthquake and flood.

In the supermarket, where goods of all the shelves  36 , people were picking up things so quickly together, and then  37  standing in line to buy food. Instead of creating panic（恐慌）and _38  as much as possible, they bought as little as they  39 _.

When I was walking home, there was a lady  40  a sign that said, “Please use our toilet.” She was  41  her house for people to go to the restroom. I also saw an old lady at a bakery shop  42  free bread. They made my heart  43 _.

A boy was saved because he climbed up on top of the roof of a store during the flood. The flood  44  so suddenly that he just saw people below trying to climb onto the roof, but failed. They were  45  by the flood. To help others, he kept filming them  46  their loved ones could see.

A foreign friend told me that she was  47  to see a long queue form so neatly（整齐地）behind one public phone. Everyone waited  48  to use the phone though they must have been so eager to call their families.

The  49  was horrible（可怕的）! Only one car could move  50  at a green light. But everyone was driving so calmly. During the 10-hour  51 , which would only take 30 minutes  52 , I heard only one horn（喇叭）and that was of thank you.

When I was  53  at the platform（站台）, a homeless person gave me a piece of cardboard to sit on. Even though we usually  54  them in our daily life, they were ready to help us.

Through all of this, I felt  55 _. There is a bright future, on the other side of this disaster.

1.                A．fell            B．lay             C．sank D．rose

2.                A．noisily          B．harmlessly       C．quietly   D．seriously

3.                A．stealing         B．buying          C．making   D．folding

4.                A．earned         B．needed         C．saw  D．afforded

5.                A．watching        B．selling          C．destroying D．holding

6.                A．locking         B．building         C．opening  D．sparing

7.                A．wiping out      B．carrying out     C．picking out    D．giving out

8.                A．warm          B．cold           C．broken   D．closed

9.                A．came          B．got            C．ran  D．left

10.               A．sent out        B．knocked down   C．brought out    D．taken away

11.               A．for            B．or             C．so    D．but

12.               A．excited         B．surprised       C．upset D．frightened

13.               A．secretly        B．patiently        C．slowly D．proudly

14.               A．traffic          B．trade          C．movement D．climate

15.               A．around         B．down          C．up   D．forward

16.               A．walk           B．run            C．drive D．flight

17.               A．necessarily      B．basically        C．normally   D．certainly

18.               A．waiting         B．playing         C．fighting    D．hiding

19.               A．respect        B．ignore         C．notice D．hate

20.               A．glory          B．help           C．interest   D．hope