Until a relatively short time ago, traveling abroad was limited to rich tourists and wealthy businesspeople. Flying abroad was not common for the average person. In time, however, plane travel became safer, more convenient, and less expensive. As a result, people of different backgrounds now fly to distant places for pleasure and businesspeople fly to one country for a breakfast or lunch conference, and then fly to another country for a dinner meeting.

       With the world becoming smaller, many young adults make the decision to study in foreign universities. It is an exciting, challenging experience to live in a foreign country. Anyone who can study abroad is fortunate; but, of course, it is not easy to change from one culture to another. One faces many difficulties.

       The student who studies in a foreign country leaves behind a familiar, loving, comfortable environment. Back home, he has his family, friends, and acquaintances. He knows the language, politics, money, food, social customs, and so forth. He knows all the unclear aspects of his native culture, such as body language, and bargaining practices, etc. in short, he knows “the system” in his native country. Then one day he leaves all this behind and suddenly finds himself in a place where everyone and everything is strange, perhaps even confusing. All this strangeness is a major surprise to a person’s self-confidence. This sudden change often leads to a reaction called culture shock.

       Foreigners experience different degrees of culture shock. The symptoms range from being ill at ease to being seriously depressed. Feeling homesick, unhappy, and very sensitive are other signs of culture shock. It is easy to understand that the endless frustrations of the early days in a new country would produce dissatisfaction, and perhaps even hostility. People are always at ease in a familiar environment. A mature, realistic person experiences mild, temporary symptoms; the insecure newcomer suffers more seriously from a culture shock.

       During the inevitable period of adjustment, the international student tends to complain about everything in the new environment. In fact, the student is likely to exaggerate the problems. When the student meets another miserable person from the same country, he will pour out his unhappy feelings. Together they can complain in their native language. Although this complaining provides temporary satisfaction, it certainly does not help him adapt to a new society. Being negative will never get rid of the feelings of frustrations. The mature person understands that a positive attitude, determination, and flexibility are important in making the change successful. A sense of humor is a big help.

76. Nowadays, flying abroad is ___  ____.

      A. limited to rich tourists and wealthy businesspeople

      B. more convenient but less safe

      C. common for the average person

      D. not common for the average person

77.   “The system” in the third paragraph includes the following except _________.

      A. social customs

      B. bargaining practices

      C. politics

      D. foreign culture

78. Culture shock affects foreigners _________.

      A. in just the same way

      B. in the same degree

      C. in quite similar ways

      D. in different degrees

79.   Endless frustrations of the early days in a new country would create _________.

      A. dissatisfaction

      B. discomfort

      C. hostility

      D. all of the above

80. The following are important in fighting culture shock except _________.

      A. determination

      B. a positive attitude

      C. a sense of humor

      D. hostility

The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card(信用卡) fraud. Your card information can even be on sale on an illegal website. Websites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care. Online shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they had bought.

The thieves then go shopping with your card number—or sell the information over the Internet. Computer hackers(黑客)have broken down security system, raising questions about the safety of card holder information.

Several months ago, 25,000 customers of a CD universe, an online music retailer(批发商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Website after the retailer refused to pay $ 157,828 to get back the information.

Credit-card firms are now fighting against online fraud. Master-card is working on plans for web-only credit-cards, with a lower credit limit. The card can be used only for shopping online. However , there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.

Ask about your credit-card firm’s online rules: under British law, cardholders are responsible for the first $ 78 of any fraudulent spending. And shop only at secure sites: send your credit-card information only if the website offers advanced security 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 with https://--the extra “s” stands for security. 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 password with care.

51. The underlined word “fraud” in the first paragraph probably means ______.

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

52. According to this passage most people worry about shopping on the Internet because ______.

A. a great number of stolen credit-cards are sold on the Internet every day

B. fraud on the Internet happens very often

C. many Websites break down every day

D. there are too many illegal Websites on the Internet

53. Thieves usually get the information of the credit-card ______.

A. because many customers lost their cards

B. by paying money for people working in the information companies

C. because of the carelessness of the customers

D. by stealing the information from Websites

54. If the passwords of your credit-cards are not properly kept, _____.

A. the bank and the shop will suffer great losses

B. you will not be able to get back your information

C. you might suffer great losses

D. the bank will answer for your loss

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

A. How to Beat Online Credit-card Thieves

B. How to Shop on the Internet

C. Never Use Credit-card Without an Advanced Computer

D. Why Thieves Steal Credit-card Information

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