题目内容
听力原文： Diamonds are the hardest substance known on Earth and they make sparkling jewelry as well as sawblades that can cut through pretty much anything. They form. deep within the Earth's mantle layer (about 200 km deep ) when atoms of the element carbon arrange themselves into a lattice under huge amounts of pressure from the load of rocks above.
Recently, geologists studying diamonds have identified the ages of thousands of diamonds from Southern Africa, where the mineral is most abundant. Their research found that there were only three times in Earth's history when diamonds were made and that the Earth no longer makes diamonds like it used to. Something was different then. Perhaps the planet was hotter on the inside, or the composition of the rocks was subtly different. "Whatever it was it has changed now," stated Steve Shirey of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., one of the project researchers.
The oldest diamonds were made 3.3 billion years ago when Earth was relatively young. The second time diamonds formed was 2.9 billion years ago. The youngest diamonds on Earth are 1.2 billion years old although a few smaller diamonds are about 100 million years old. Small bits of rock within those diamonds, called impurities, indicate that they probably formed from rocks laid down in a shallow sea suggesting that the carbon that made the diamonds probably came from the remains of ancient sea life.
Some people like diamonds because they are pretty, rare, or expensive but Dr. Steve Shiley has a different perspective. "I think of diamonds," he said, "as being tiny time capsules that encase a little piece of rock protecting it for billions of years and providing us with a unique window on ancient times."
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Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.
When we worry about who might be spying on our private lives, we usually think about the Federal agents. But the private sector outdoes the government every time. It's Linda Tripp, not the FBI, who is facing charges under Maryland's laws against secret telephone taping. It's our banks not the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), that pass our private financial data to telemarketing firms.
Consumer activists are pressing Congress for better privacy laws without much result so far. The legislators lean toward letting business people track our financial habits virtually at will.
As an example of what's going on, consider U.S. Bancorp, which was recently sued for deceptive practices by the state of Minnesota. According to the lawsuit, the bank supplied a telemarketer called Member Works with sensitive customer data such as names, phone numbers, bank-account and credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, account balances and credit limits.
With these customer lists in hand, Member Works started dialing for dollars-selling dental plans, videogames, computer software and other products and services. Customers who accepted a "free trial offer" had 30 days to cancel. If the deadline passed, they were charged automatically through their bank or credit card accounts. U.S. Bancorp collected a share of the revenues.
Customers were doubly deceived, the lawsuit claims. They didn't know that the bank was giving account numbers to Member Works. And if customers asked, they were led to think the answer was no.
The state sued Member Works separately for deceptive selling. The Company denies that it did anything wrong. For its part, U.S. Bancorp settled without admitting any mistakes. But it agreed to stop exposing its customers to nonfinancial products sold by outside firms. A few top banks decided to do the same. Many other banks will still do business with Member Works and similar firms.
And banks will still be mining data from your account in order to sell you financial products, including things of little value, such as credit insurance and credit-card protection plans.
You have almost no protection from businesses that use your personal accounts for profit. For example, no federal law shields "transaction and experience" information-mainly the details of your bank and credit-card accounts. Social Security numbers are for sale by private firms. They've generally agreed not to sell to the public. But to businesses, the numbers are an open book. Self- regulation doesn't work. A firm might publish a privacy-protection policy, but who enforces it？
Take U.S. Bancorp again. Customers were told, in writing, that "all personal information you supply to us will be considered confidential." Then it sold your data to Member Works. The bank even claims that it doesn't "sell" your data at all. It merely "shares" it and reaps a profit. Now you know.
Contrary to popular belief, the author finds that spying on people's privacy ______.
听力原文：M: So you really believe that clothes carry a kind of message for other people and that what we put on is in some way a reflection of what we feel？
W: Oh yes, very much so. Now people are beginning to take seriously the idea of a kind of psychology of clothing, to believe that there is not just individual taste in our clothes but also a thinking behind what we wear which is trying to express something we may not even be aware of ourselves.
M: But surely this has always been the case. We all dress up when we want to impress someone, such as for a job interview with a prospective employer; we then make an effort and put on something smart.
W: True, but that's a conscious act. What I am talking about is more of a subconscious thing. Take for example the student who is away from home at college or university: if he tends to wrap himself up more than the others , this is because he is probably feeling homesick. Similarly, a general feeling of insecurity can sometimes take the form. of overdressing in warmer clothes than necessary.
M: Can you give any other examples？
W: Yes. I think people who are sociable and outgoing tend to dress in an extroverted way, preferring brighter or more dazzling colors yellows, bright reds, and so on. In the same way, what might be seen as a parallel with the animal kingdom, aggressive clothes might indicate an aggressive personality or attitude to life. Think about the threat displays used by animals when they want to warn off opponents.
M: Do you think the care or lack of it over the way we actually wear our clothes has anything to tell us？
W: Yes, indeed. The length, for example, of a man's trousers speaks volumes about this awareness of his own image. Or, if his trousers are too short or hanging loosely, this probably means he's absorbed by other things.
According to the woman, what governs the clothes we wear？
听力原文：F: These books are three weeks overdue. How much is the fine for late returns？
M: You are in luck. We're trying to encourage returns so there's no fines this week.
Q: What does the man mean？
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A．noticedB．noticingC．noticeD．been noticed
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