Enough "meaningless drivel". That's the message from a group of members of the UK government who have been examining how social media firms like LinkedIn gather and use social media data. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's report, released last week, has blamed firms for making people sign up to long incomprehensible legal contracts and calls for an international standard or kitemark   to identify sites that have clear terms and conditions. "The term and conditions statement that we all carelessly agree to is meaningless drivel to anyone," says Andrew Miller, the chair of the committee. Instead, he says, firms should provide a plain-English version of their terms. The simplified version would be checked by a third party and awarded a kitemark if it is an accurate reflection of the original. It is not yet clear who would administer the scheme, but the UK government is looking at introducing it on a voluntary basis. "we need to think through how we make that work in practice," says Miller. Would we pay any more attention to a kitemark? "I think if you went and did the survey, people would like to think they would," says Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton, UK, who studies open data. "We do know people worry a lot about the inappropriate use of their information." But what would happen in practice is another matter, he says. Other organisations such as banks ask customers to sign long contracts they may not read or understand, but Miller believes social media requires special attention because it is so new. "We still don't know how significant the long-term impact is going to be of unwise things that kids put on social media that come back and bite them in 20 years' time," he says. Shadbolt, who gave evidence to the committee, says the problem is that we don't know how companies will use our data because their business models and uses of data are still evolving. Large collections of personal information have become valuable only recently, he says. The shock and anger when a... Which of the following is the best title of the passage? A) Say no to social media? B) New security rules in operation? C) Accept without reading? D) Administration matters!
C


Playing with toy blocks   may lead to improved language development in young children, a new study reported.      Early childhood is an important period in the development of young minds. The newborn brain grows three times in size between birth and age 2. Scientists have said that certain activities during this important period may promote   healthy development while others may hold it back, and development of memory and language may especially be helped by imaginative play.      After six months, language scores among half of the 175 children aged 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 who were sent plastic blocks were 15 percent higher than a matched group that did not receive the free blocks, according to the study by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle.     Parents were given ideas about how to help their children play with the blocks, then were told to keep diaries of their children's activities over four days. Finally, all the parents filled out questionnaires that judged their children's vocabulary, grammar, and other language abilities. Study author Dimitri Christakis said unstructured play with blocks motivated children's thinking, memory and physical skills at a time when a child's brain is growing rapidly. "They are the foundation of thought and language," he wrote of the skills learned from building blocks. "Older children begin to make up stories for these objects ." Such play may also take the place of less helpful activities such as watching TV, he said, adding parents ought to have doubts about some toy-makers' words. "An increasing number of media-based products are making ungrounded   claims that they can make children smarter, more literate, and more musical," Christakis said. Building blocks helps kids gain language skills because   _  . A) young children always talk to themselves while building blocks B) their parents can teach them when they are playing with blocks C) their parents are given ideas on how to develop their brains D) it can help them improve thinking, memory and physical skills
D


Q: Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance, The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly ,The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs ,from family to family. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance in no time ,Lf they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending  must be done within a budget ,which demands choices between spending and saving ,Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs ,like clothing or electronics. But it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home ,These jobs are a normal part of family life , Paying children to do extra work around the house , however, can be useful .It can even provide an understanding of how a business works. Allowances give children a chance to experience the things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause .They can spend it by buying things they want., Or they can save and maybe even invest it , Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice; you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers ,lean about personal finance .A savings account is an excellent way to lean about the power of compound interest. Compounding works by paying interest on interest .So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year .The second year, the money will earn to percent of one dollar and two cents,, and so on ,That may not seem like a lot .But over time is adds ,up. Which of the following can be the main idea of the passage? A) Giving children allowances makes good lessons. B) Some different ways to give children allowance. C) How to help children learn to handle their money. D) The more children are paid, the better they will learn.
A: A


Q: Every autumn, as families across the United States get ready to send their kids to college, the economics of higher education receive renewed attention. College is expensive and becoming more so in the U. S. The situation raises two questions: Why does it cost so much, and how can students and their families afford it? Several studies published in the past few weeks reflect on these questions. The findings provide comfort to poor families. First, it appears that only the minority actually pay the "high price". A study by the US Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics found that 55 percent of college students last year received some forms of help--scholarships, loans or jobs. Other factors are also at work. The government has increased the size of its grants  to lower-income students. Grants, unlike loans, don't have to he repaid and are awarded only to college students who have not earned a bachelor's or professional degree. At the same time, most colleges are spending more on undergraduate education than they are collecting in tuition fees. A study, which is part of the Williams College Project on the Economics of Higher Education, reaches the conclusion that on average colleges "subsidize  " their students. The results of these studies, however, leave unanswered the questions of whether educational costs are higher than they need to be. Some experts argue that much of the college cost results from educational competition for fame, students and facilities. This puts upward pressure on tuition, hut many colleges feel that good fame will enable them to attract students even if they charge them more. Therefore, until something important changes in the marketplace, costs seem likely to continue rising. And American families will continue to beat down the doors of the high price "college in the end. The writer of this passage seems to hold the opinion that   _  . A) college fees rise too fast for poor families. B) poor people should borrow money from banks C) poor people don't need to send their children to college D) colleges should get more money to improve themselves

A: A