mpa阅读20篇.docx

mpa阅读20篇.docx

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mpa阅读20篇

MPA阅读20篇

ReadingcansolvemostproblemsinEnglishlearning

Passageone

IntheUnitedStatesthewaypeoplespendtheirleisuretimeisanimportantpartoftheiridentity.Perhapseverybodydoesnearlythesamethingalldayintheofficeorthefactory,butleisuretimeiswhatmakespeopledistinctandrevealswhotheyare.Somepeoplelikerockmusic,forexample,andothersmaylikejazzorclassicalmusic.Somepeoplearerunnersorswimmers,andothersare"couch（睡椅）potatoes"who"surf"thetelevisionchannelswitharemotecontrol.Somegotomuseumswhileothersspendlonghoursatashoppingcenter.Thesekindsofchoicesarewaysthatpeopledefinethemselves.

    Ithasn'talwaysbeenthisway."Leisuretime"wasalmostunknownintheUnitedStatesintheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturies.Whenmostpeopleworkedonfarms,theworkdaywasfromsunrisetosunseteverydayexceptSunday,whichwasdevotedtochurch.Later,withtheriseoffactoriesandcitypopulations,peopleworkedequallylonghoursandhadonlySundayforrests.Somepeopledidmanyofthethingsthenthattheydonow-attendconcerts,haveparties,gotorestaurants,readnovels,orplaysports-buttoamuchlesserextent.

    Slowly,throughoutthetwentiethcentury,leisuretimegrew.Technologymadefarmworklessburdensome,andchangesinlawsshortenedthefactoryworkdayandweek.Newinventionssuchasphonograph（留声机）andtheradiogavepeopleaccesstomusicandmassentertainmentonascaleunknownbefore.Peoplegraduallybecameconsumersofentertainment,andbusinessescompetedfiercelyfortheirdollars.

    Formanypeopleleisuretimemeansgoingsomewhere-toamuseum,toaconcert,toarestaurant,ortoabaseballgame,forexample.Oritmeansdoingsomethingsuchasplayingvolleyball,backpacking,swimming,biking,orplayinginaparkwiththeirchildren.Forotherpeoplefreetimemeansstayinghomewithwonderfulsourcesofentertainment,suchasaVCR,stereo（立体声系统）,orcableTVwithdozensofchannels.Otherspursuecreativeactivitiessuchascooking,gardening,andhomeimprovement.Thelateststay-at-homeactivityis"surfingthenet"-thatis,lookingforinformationandentertainmentontheInternet.

    PeopleintheUnitedStatesarebasicallynotmuchdifferentfromothersinwhattheydointheirleisuretime.Therealdifferencemaylieintheenergy,time,money,andsheerenthusiasmthattheydevotetoit.

 PassageTwo

    Whetheryouareloggingontoyourpersonalcomputer,usingacreditcard,ordisarmingadoorsecuritysystem,passwordsorPINs（personalidentificationnumbers）guardaccesstonumerousregularoperations.

    Itisestimatedthatwithinthenyears,consumerscouldbefacedwithhandlingmorethan100passwords!

Giventhepopularityofpasswords,howcanyouchooseonesthataresufficientlycomplicatedtobesecureyetaresimpleenoughtoremember?

    Therearebasicguidelinestobearinmind.Don'tuseasapasswordyournameorthatofamemberofyourfamily,eveninmodifiedform.Alsoavoidusingyourtelephonenumber,yourSocialSecuritynumber,oryouraddress.Suchinformationcaneasilybeobtainedbyadeterminedhacker（黑客）.

    Inaddition,ifpossible,don'tusepasswordsmadeupentirelyoflettersordigits.Arelativelysimplecomputerprogramcancracksuchacodequickly.Finally,donotuseawordthatcanbefoundinanydictionary,evenaforeign-languageone.Hugelistsareavailablethatcontainwords,placenames,andpropernamesfromalllanguages.Programscantestforvariationsofthesewords,suchasiftheyarespelledbackward,capitalized,orcombined.

    So,whatkindsofpasswordsshouldbeused?

Usuallyonesthathaveaminimumofsixtoeightcharactersandthathaveamixtureofupper-andlower-caseletters,digitandpunctuation（标点）symbols.Howdifficultisittocracksuchacombinationofcharacters?

Onesourcesays,“Amachinethatcouldtryonemillionpasswordspersecondwouldrequire,ontheaverage,overonehundredyears."

    Howcanyouchooseacombinationthatiseasytoremember?

Somesuggestthatyoutakethetitleofafavoritebookorfilmoralinefromasongorpoemandusethefirstletterfromeachwordasyourpassword,addingcapitalletters,punctuation,orothercharacters.Forexample,“tobeornotbe"couldbecome"2B/not2B."

    Othersuggestionsincludetakingtwoshortwordsandlinkthemwithapunctuationcharacter,suchas"High?

Bug"or"Song;Tree".

    Takingintoaccountthesuggestionsoutlinedabovecanhelpyoutoprotectimportantinfor-mationfromunwantedhackers.Remember,too,theimportanceofchangingyourpasswordsregularly.Justafinalcomment:

Whateverpasswordsyoudecidetouse,don'tpickanyoftheexamplesgivenabove.

 Passage3

    Accordingtoaconcerned1997articleintheBostonGlobe,theUnitedStatesspentlessthanonepercentofitstransportationbudgetonfacilitiesforpedestrians（行人）.Actually,I'msurpriseditwasthatmuch.Gotoalmostanysuburbdevelopedinthelast30years,andyouwillnotfindasidewalkanywhere.Oftenyouwon'tfindasinglepedestriancrossing.

    IwasmadefullyawareofthisonesummerwhenweweredrivingacrossMaineandstoppedforcoffeeinoneofthoseendlesszonesofshoppingmalls（购物中心）,motels,gasstationsandfast-foodplaces.Inoticedtherewasabookstoreacrossthestreet;soIdecidedtoforgetcoffeeandgotheretohavealook.

    Althoughthebookshopwasnomorethan70or80feetaway,Idiscoveredthattherewasnowaytocrossoversixlanesofswiftlymovingtrafficonfootwithoutputtingmyselfindanger.Intheend,Ihadtogetinourcaranddrivecross.

    Atthetime,itseemedridiculousandannoying,butafterwardIrealizedthatIwaspossiblytheonlypersonevertohavethoughtofcrossingthestreetonfoot.

    Thefactis,wenotonlydon'twalkanywhereanymoreinthiscountry,wewon'twalkanywhere,anddislikeanyonewhotriestomakeus,asthecityofLaconia,N.H.discovered.Intheearly1970s,Laconiaspentmillionsonacomprehensiveurbanrenewalproject,whichincludedbuildingapedestrianmalltomakeshoppingmorepleasant.Esthetically（美学上）itwasatriumph--urbanplannerscamefromallovertopraiseandtakephotos--butcommerciallyitwasadisaster.Forcedtowalkonewholeblockfromaparkinggarage,shoppersabandoneddowntownLaconiaforsuburbanmalls.

    In1994Laconiadugupitsprettypavingblocks,tookawaytheflowersanddecorativetrees,andbroughtbackthecars.Nowpeoplecanparkrightinfrontofthestoresagain,anddowntownLaconiathrivesagain.

    Andifthatisn'tsaid,Idon'tknowwhatis.

 Passage4

    DearSirs,

    Yourshipmentoftwelvethousand"Smart"watcheswasreceivedbyourcompanythismorning.However,wewishtomakeanumberofcomplaintsconcerningtheseriousdelayindeliveryandyourfailuretocarryoutourspecificinstructionswithregardtothisorder.

    Itwasstressedfromthebeginningthatthedeliverydatehadtobelessthansixweeksfromtheinitialorder,inordertomeetourowncustomers'requirements.Whileweunderstandthatdelaysinproductionareoccasionallyinevitable,wemustpointoutthatthemajorreasonwhytheorderwasplacedwithyourcompanywasbecausewewereassuredbyyouofitsspeedofdelivery,andthatyourexistingstocksweresufficientlyhightoensureimmediateshipment.Latedeliveryofthegoodshascausedustodisappointseveralofourmostvaluedcustomers,andisboundtohaveanegativeeffectonpotentialfutureorders.

    Thesecondcomplaintconcernsthedifferenceincolourbetweenthewatchesweorderedandthosedelivered.Itwasstatedclearlyintheoriginalorderthatwatchesincombinationsofgreen/purpleandorange/purpleonlywererequired.However,onlyhalfthewatchesinthedeliveryreceivedareofthecoloursspecified.OurHongKongagentassuresusthatshestressedtoyoutheimportanceoffollowingourinstructionsprecisely,sinceweconsidertheretobeonlyalimitedmarketinthiscountryforwatchesofothercoloursatthepresenttime.Anywatchesthatarenotofthespecifiedcolourswill,ofcourse,bereturnedtoyou.

    Wearealsosomewhatconcernedabouttheratherpoorqualityofthegoodsreceived,sinceitisapparentthatthewatchesthatfinallyarrivedhavebeenproducedfrominferiormaterialsandhavebeenmanufacturedtoalowerstandardthanthoseinthesample.Wehavealsofoundthatanumberofthewatchesdonotappeartobefunctioning.Whetherthelatterproblemisduetopoormanufactures,damageduringtransportationorbadbatteriesisnotyetclear,butweshouldliketopointoutthatwefeelthismattertobeentirelyyourresponsibility.

    Asaresultoftheaboveproblems,therefore,wefeelthatthemostsuitablecourseofactionistoreturntoyouunpaidanyofthegoodsconsideredunsatisfactory,andtosubtractanyresultantcostsfromourfinalsettlement.Weshallalso,ofcourse,beforcedtoreconsiderwhetheranyfurtherordersshouldbeplacedwithyourcompany.

    Welookforwardtoyourpromptreply.

                                                                             Yourssincerely,

                                                                                JohnSmith

 Passage5

     InLondon,twoweeksagoaclassofstudentsmadelegalhistorybywinningalawsuitagainsttheircollegeforpoorteaching.

     Inthislandmarkcasethegroupallpassedtheircourseinhistoricvehiclerestoration,butsued（起诉）theOxfordshirecollegetheyhadattended,claimingtheirqualificationswereworth-lessbecausenonehadgainedjobsinthefield.Thefactthatthecoursewassubstant