The central government will pour billions of yuan into special projects to help meet the country’s energy-saving targets. Local officials are also about to come under increased pressure to toe the government line to meet the targets, otherwise their political futures could be in jeopardy. A top official from the National Development and Reform Commission reaffirmed China’s commitment to cutting energy use and emissions when making a report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress yesterday.

   “We’re facing a very vital situation to cut energy use,” Ma Kai, the NDRC minister said. “If we don’t fasten our pace, it will be difficult to meet the targets this year.”

   Ma said the central government would also issue compulsory energy consumption standards for 22 products such as steel, cement, caustic soda and thermal power by the end of the year. NDRC figures show that the country’s energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) dropped 2.78 percent in the first six months from the same period a year earlier. However, the government has set the target of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010, about an annual fall of 4 percent. But it fell only 1.33 percent last year from 2005. In addition, official figures also show that SO₂ emissions dropped 0.88 percent to 12.63 million tons in the first half of the year.

   The minister blamed some local officials for dragging the rest of the country down in not meeting the targets. He said the assessment of officials in many places still focused too much on their performance in economic growth, and many cities and counties still lacked concrete plans to cut energy consumption. Ma said we had paid too much to economic growth and serious consequences are revealing themselves.

1. The underlined sentence in paragraph 1 means “________________”.

   A. their families would be healthy                 B. their futures would be bright

   C. their futures would be in danger               D. their jobs would be necessary

2. The Chinese government will pour billions of yuan into special projects to _______________.

A. help reduce energy use and emissions             

B. enlarge investment

C. improve the living conditions            

D. balance the income between the poor and the rich

3. The underlined word in paragraph 2 means “__________”.

   A. useless        B. strange      C. helpful       D. important

4. From the passage, we can infer that _______________.

   A. the government only focused on the economic growth

   B. some local officials could have done more for cutting energy use and emissions

   C. some local officials would not focus on the economic growth

   D. SO₂ emissions increased in the first half of the year

5. What caused the government to face a very vital situation to cut energy use?

   A. The assessment of officials.

   B. The central government would not issue energy consumption standards.

   C. Many cities and counties still lacked concrete plans to cut energy consumption.

   D. A and C.

Someday a stranger will read your email without your permission or scan the website you have visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.

? In fact, it is likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without permission? It might be a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen-----the 21st century is the equal of being caught naked.

? Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy and that it is important to reveal yourself to friends, families and lovers at appropriate time and places. But now few boundaries remain. The information you leave everywhere makes it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. Believe it or not, we live in a world where you simply can’t keep a secret. The key question is: does that matter?

? When you ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it.

? But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part 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 can track automobile movements. And few refuse to offer personal information like Social Security numbers to get supermarket loyalty cards.

? But privacy (隐私) does matter—at least sometimes. It is like health: when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it is gone do you wish you had done more to protect it.

1.What does the underlined sentence in Para 2 mean?

A. People’s personal information is easily accessed without their knowing it.

B. In the 21st century people try every means to look into others’ secrets.

C. People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age.

D. Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology.

2.Which of the statements will the psychologists probably agree with?

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. The closer they are, the deeper their friendship is.

3.In the last paragraph but one, the EZ-Pass system and Social Security numbers are used as evidence to show_________.

A. Americans talk a lot but do little about privacy protection

B. Americans use various loyalty cards for business.

C. Americans rely more and more on electronic devices.

D. Americans change behaviors that might disclose their identity.

4.Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A. Privacy and Health??????????????????? B. Privacy Is Getting Lost.

C. Boundary and Friendship?????????????? D. Cherish What You Have