U1-U10 QA课后问答

U11. What delayed Liz Teixeira de Mattos going to college? Why would she do that?She decided to take a "gap year" off between high school and what would be her freshman year of college to travel, volunteer, work, study, and otherwise recharge her batteries before getting back on the academic treadmill (para.2).She thought a gap year could offer some other ways of learning than sitting in a classroom (para.2).2. What benefits can one gain from the gap year experience as claimed by gap year proponents? They argue that the out-of-classroom experiences of a gap year give students eye-opening life lessons that help them become more mature, more aware of the wider world, and more self-sufficient, traits that will ultimately serve them well once they're on campus (para.3).A gap year allows students to depressurize after years of intense study, which tends to improve students’college performance (para.6).3. What does Robert Bardwell think of the practice of taking a gap break?He thinks that taking a gap break is a hard sell, and that there is a lot of peer pressure to go straight to college (para.7).4. What are parents’concerns?Some parents worry that their children will never go to college if they don’t go straight out of high school (para.8).Cost can also be a hurdle (para.9).5. What is the difference between British students and American students in planning their gap year?In Britain, gap students typically work for most of the year to earn enough money to cover the cost of backpacking around various parts of the globe for a few months. American students and their parents usually prefer taking a more organized approach, to weave together a range of experiences (para.10).U31. According to the news report, what is a new trend catching on when it comes to payment?⏹Cellphones and other electronic devices are used to make transactions.2. Could you name some new ways of payment mentioned in this part? Have you ever used some of them?⏹Phones can be used to buy train tickets, coffee, send and receive money through anetwork of money agents, and even pay utility bills.3. What is the deficiency of Google Wallet?⏹Google wallet works on only 4 kinds of phones, and not many merchants areequipped for near field technology.4. What is the prospect of PayPal as envisioned by John J. Donahoe?⏹Everything would be contained within Paypal. It would enable the company tocollect vast amounts of data about customer habits, purchases and budgets.5. What can be inferred from the passage on Mr. Acquisti’s attitude to PayPal’s future plans?⏹It seems that the future Paypal would be able to do everything for the users. It couldbe a blessing, but it may also turn out to be out of control.U4U5•*1. What is the future evolution of car?The car will be cleaner, more fuel-efficient and safer in the future.•*2. What challenges would the growth of car ownership present to us？We are faced with fearsome challenges, from congestion, and the price of fuel to pollution and global warming.•*3. Why does the author consider battery-powered cars disappointing?Battery-powered cars remain expensive, lack range and are sometimes dirtier than they look.•*4. What benefits may drivers gain from the “driver-assistance’technology?1). to relieve stress2). to cut accidents (para. 5)3). to help the elderly and disabled people regain their personal mobility4). to reduce insurance costs(The young will not have to pay crippling motor insurance /the costs to health systems and insurers, should tumble down.)5). to reduce death toll and injuries from road accidents6). to ease congestion7). save fuel8). to save hours each day for car commuters to work, rest or read a newspaper•*5. What are some concerns with regard to driverless cars?People are concerned about the computer failure. They will be too terrified to hurtle down the motorway in a vehicle they do not control; Carmakers whose self-driving technology is implicated in accidents might face ruinously expensive lawsuits, and be put off continuing to develop it.U81. Why do some websites ask the users to provide their real names?They hope discussions will be more civil if people have to reveal their identities.2. Could you name any techniques mentioned in this passage that can be used to revealusers’ identity?One way this happen involves "cookies". Cookies can reveal things about users’browsing habits, which could be used to target advertising. Another anonymity-eroding technique relies on "history stealing", in which a security flaw in a user’s web browser allows rogue websites to retrieve fragments of his browsing history. Meanwhile, Facebook has quietly gained the ability to monitor its users' browsing. Many sites now include Facebook “Like”buttons. Click one, and your facebook profile will be updated with a message linking to the page in question. In fact, merely going to a page containing a “Like”button while logged into Facebook is enough to notify the social network of your visit, whether or not you click the button.3. What is the difference between privacy and anonymity, according to Eric Schmidt? Privacy should be respected, while absolute anonymity mustn’t be encouraged, since it may lead to some very difficult decisions for the government and society as a whole.4. What does the author mean by saying “anonymity is freeing”?Anonymity allows people to do all types of activities without subjecting themselves to unpleasant judgment, which would not be possible if their identities are revealed.5. What might be the consequence if the days of anonymous browsing are over?It would “frost keyboards”; that is, discourage people from using the Internet.6. Do you think anonymous browsing should be abolished? Give your reasons. (Open)U91. Why do some e-book consumers conclude that it’s harder than ever to sit down and focus on reading?Because a tablet offers a menu of distractions.2. What’s Maja Thomas’ a ttitude toward e-readers?A tablet can offer the user a lot of opportunities for reading, which therefore can increase the readership (para.7).3. How can we tell the publishers may be losing their enthusiasm for tablets as e-readers?A recent survey by Forrester Research showed that 31 percent of publishers believed iPads and similar tablets were the ideal e-reading platform; one year ago, 46 percent thought so.4. Why was the original Kindle not a multipurpose device? Why was the new Kindle Firedesigned into a multipurpose device?The lack of multipurpose feature of the original Kindle could make people be able to immerse themselves without interruption (para.13). The new Kindle Fire was meant to offer people with different experiences (para.14).5. What is the prospect of plain e-readers?Many publishers believe the market for plain e-readers is not going away (para.15). But some others think the black-and-white e-readers will eventually be edged out by tablets (para.17).U101. What is the significance of the 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act? Is it sufficient to ensure a safe food supply?The 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act is a victory for those of us who want to eat our spinach salads and cheeseburgers without the worry of ingesting deadly foodborne bacteria. This long overdue legislation finally gives the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees about 80 percent of our food supply, authority to help prevent outbreaks instead of just reacting to them. But it isn’t sufficient to ensure a safe food supply because this law barely scratches the surface.*2. What constitutes a more serious threat than pathogens as far as food safety is concerned? Why?The big problem with our food supply isn’t pathogens, it is processed food. We’re being killed not by E. coli, salmonella, or campylobacter, but by the nutritionally hollow contents of the bags, boxes, and fast-food clamshells that have managed to pass as nourishment in our society.*3. What changes has Americans’diet undergone over the last century?Over the last century, Americans’diet has undergone unprecedented change. Some 70 percent of the calories Americans consume now come from highly processed foods —loaded up with salt, sugar, fat, strange additives, and refined grains and bereft of naturally occurring nutrients and antioxidants.*4. What is the most worrying case in terms of the FDA’s limited knowledge of all those substances that can be directly added to food?On top of that, a scant few additives have been tested according to the way they’re actually consumed —that is, in combination with a multitude of other additives.*5. Which factor most responsible for the FDA’s lax oversight?A lot of the blame —and the potential to change things —is in the hands of Congress, which has not given the FDA the authority or funding resources it really needs for the monumental task of overseeing our $1 trillion food supply.*6. What does the author suggest people should do?The author suggest people cut down the space on our plates for processed food closer to 20 or 30 percent. It’s only then that we can call our food supply truly safe.。