Anybody who's noticed so many sweaty Sunday-morning photos on the Internet must think that marathons have recently regained popularity.According to Running USA,an organization that tracks the sport's growth,52 percent of runners today track themselves with some sort of GPS-enabled device,like a smart phone or a fitness tracker.This statistic has likely played a role in running's growing appeal--the easily available tracking information has attracted people to the sport,and kept them going,for it's possible for anyone to see in real time how it's affecting their bodias. Today,free smart phone apps can give runners information on things like the number and length of their steps,their heart rate,even the estimated volume of oxygen they consume per minute.All this information can act as a reward and a motivator for the runner."It's one thing to hear encouragement from a coach."Bryan Boyle,editor of Runner's World magazine,explains."It's quite another,however,to appreciate-at a glance-progress made during weeks and months of running.'' But run--tracking technology doesn't just help runners train harder. It also gives them the power to train more intelligently.Recreational runners today no longer have to guess how far or how fast they've run,or what their body is doing.If they can monitor their heart rate,they can make sure they're hitting the most strategic pace on each run,which can significantly increase their chances of having a positive experience on the course during race day. No matter how much technology can promote the experience of running,though,many runners argue that the biggest benefit of the sport remains the chance to get outdoors,away from the computer,for an hour."There's so much more to experience," adds Boyle."fresh air,travel,shoot,just overall feeling better.There's no app for that." As for the experienced runners,what attracts them most is  _  . A) the exciting experience technology brings them B) a chance to enjoy nature outdoors C) becoming popular on social media D) being cool with a new wearable device on the road
B

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

The concept of solar power satellites, or SPS, first put forward in the 1960s, is still not widely known by the general public. For example, at many public exhibitions about energy, SPS is not even mentioned. This is mainly because very little money has been spent on SPS research There are people who claim that SPS is unrealistic - because launch costs are much too high today; or because it is too far away. So why do we believe that it is important to continue to do researches on SPS? The reason is very simple. Humans are going to need huge amounts of electric power in coming decades. Within 50 years the world population is expected to double, while economic growth will continue around the world, especially in the poorer countries. But existing energy sources already face serious problems. They are limited; they are polluted; they are dangerous. So 50 or 100 years from now, where is our power going to come from? Nobody knows. And so we believe that new large-scale possibilities should be studied further. We must remember that humans have some choices concerning our future. To some extent we can choose the direction in which our civilization develops. And choices that are made in the coming decades - such as the energy sources that we will or will not use, will have major, long-term meaning for human life on earth. We believe that if research continues to show that SPS is environmentally and economically attractive, SPS will open the door to a much more attractive future for human civilization than any ground-based energy source, and one that the public will support and that young people will find challenging and exciting. Furthermore energy from SPS can be readily used in developing countries, as the SPS 2000 project will show, thus aiding economic development worldwide. In addition, by creating large commercial fund for space engineering, SPS will open the frontier of space to economic development, thus creating a limitless new field for the growth of the world economy. Which of the following statements about SPS is TRUE? A) The research on SPS started in the 1960s is still not appreciated by the public. B) The research is showing SPS can benefit environment and economy at present. C) The energy from SPS is now being used in some developing countries. D) The public don't know about SPS because little time is devoted to the research.
A

I received pictures of my daughter floating   on a lake in California. Right there under the sun during the hottest time of the day, she has only her swimsuit to cover her. When I showed it to my students, it was as if I had shown them scenes from a horror   movie. "But she will get dark," they said. "That's what she wants," I told them. "We think darker skin   is beautiful." They looked at me in disbelief. It was as if I came from the moon. For years, American girls spend their summer trying to get as tanned   as possible. In China, on the other hand, girls use umbrellas all year round. What in the world is going on? The pale skin we think looks unattractive   is what Asian women want. Both groups want to meet their culture's standard   of beauty. In the US, if you can afford to go on vacation in the summer, you head for a river, a lake or a beach, where you try to get as much sun as possible. If you are rich you take a winter vacation in some sunny spot. Your winter tan shows your wealth. In China, once upon a time, the few wealthy were the ones who didn't have to work out in the hot sun. So the whiter the skin, the richer the woman. The folk opera performers who play these ladies wore lots of white makeup  . The tradition survives to this day. So it comes naturally that none of my students wishes to follow the Western ways in this regard. But now I am noticing that a new business - the tanning booth   - started up in China. I admire those brave enough to define(...)their own idea of beauty, but I do wonder what their grandmothers would have to say to them about it! In the US a winter tan usually means the person    _   . A) is hard-working B) doesn't have to work C) has a D) is from a very poor family

C