For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall. Soon, that will change. Electronic commerce is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices. There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from fraud will be harder. Many governments therefore want to extend high street regulations to the electronic world. But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation.
　　Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything from the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs, or their rights to refund when goods are faulty. But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence in their country is on the screen. Other countries have regulators, but the rules of consumer protection differ, as does enforcement. Even where a clear right to compensation exists, the online catalogue customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to extract a refund for a dud purchase.
　　One answer is for governments to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s rules. But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules. And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober states to accept. There is, however, an alternative. Let the electronic businesses do the “regulation” themselves. They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so.
　　In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset. Governments, too, may compete to be trusted. For instance, customers ordering medicines online may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead.
Consumers will need to use their judgment. But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than consumers of the normal sort---and the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain noisily when a company lets them down. In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more.
【小題1】According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?

Tales From Animal Hospital

David Grant

David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital. Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated, including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess, the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond. He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day, from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery （外科手術(shù)）. Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the program and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it be cat, dog or snake I !

$ 14.99 Hardback 272 pp Simon Schuster

ISBN 0751304417

Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer

Michael White

From the author of Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science, comes this colorful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist. Interesting yet based on fact, Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him. Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic (魔術(shù))ended and science began.

£8.99 Hardback 320 pp Fourth Estate

ISBN 1857024168

Fermat’s Last Theorem

Simon Singh

In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem: Fermat’s Last Theorem (定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem (法則)had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds, including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem, and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole

Polytechnique. Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995. An unusual story of human effort over three centuries, Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike.

£12.99 Hardback 384 pp Fourth Estate

ISBN 1857025210

42．In Michael White’s book, Newton is described as        .

A．a(chǎn) person who did not look the same as in many pictures

B．a(chǎn) person who lived a colorful and meaningful life

C．a(chǎn) great but not perfect man

D．a(chǎn)n old-time magician

43．Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” as it is used in the text?

A．To encourage people to raise questions.   B．To cause difficulty in understanding.

C．to provide a person with an explanation.  D．To limit people’s imagination.

44．If a student wants to read a book about a famous scientist and he doesn’t want it too serious to read, which of the three books in the above is suitable?

A. The first.   B. The second.

C. The third.   D. Both the first and the second.

The other day, I happened to meet someone I hadn’t seen for many years. I couldn’t believe the change in him. In fact, he didn’t even seem like the    36   person.

When I first knew Bill , back in   37 , he was one of the most carefree（無憂無慮）people I had ever    38  . He was always ready to have a party. He thought    39  of going out for beer at three o’clock in the morning or driving 15 miles to see an old   40    he really liked. Bill and I were in the same class in college, and    41   was never dull when he was    42  . With him there was one wild    43   after another. Sometimes I wonder how we    44   to study for our exams.

Last week I was in Houston on business and I ran into Bill in the bar at the hotel.   45  , I wasn’t even sure it was    46  . Was this short-haired businessman really the same person? I wasn’t really sure until I came near him but it indeed was Bill. Now he works for a bank. He   47    most of the evening about his job, his new car and his house. How he had changed! Back when we were in college, the    48   thing Bill cared about were possessions(財(cái)富). Now they seemed to be his main    49  . Although I have changed quite a bit myself, somehow I never    50   Bill changing so much. My image of him   51    the one I had formed     52  the time when we were college students together.

I suppose it’s   53    to expect people to remain the same, especially    54   I have changed so much myself. But I must say that I enjoyed the old Bill much more than the new Bill. Maybe he    55   the same way about me.

1.                A．proper         B．usual           C．same     D．right

2.                A．childhood       B．the army        C．his thirties D．college

3.                A．considered      B．met            C．supposed D．expected

4.                A．most           B．much           C．nothing   D．none

5.                A．movie          B．hospital         C．man D．country

6.                A．learning        B．life            C．work     D．fun

7.                A．in             B．out            C．a(chǎn)round   D．a(chǎn)way

8.                A．joke           B．mistake         C．chance   D．a(chǎn)dventure

9.                A．managed        B．continued       C．decided D．hoped

10.               A．First of all       B．At first         C．Now and then   D．All the time

11.               A．that           B．he             C．there     D．us

12.               A．thought        B．spent          C．a(chǎn)rgued    D．talked

13.               A．first           B．next           C．last   D．only

14.               A．interest        B．event          C．subject    D．problem

15.               A．forgot          B．minded         C．imagined D．liked

16.               A．remained       B．reminded       C．suggested D．became

17.               A．since          B．from           C．a(chǎn)t    D．till

18.               A．unnecessary     B．foolish         C．common   D．unusually

19.               A．because        B．that            C．how D．when

20.               A．discovered      B．a(chǎn)cted          C．looked    D．felt

If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought.  It’s nothing personal.  Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius.  In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities.  More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries.  These schools teach both Chinese language and culture.  The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy（哲學(xué)）.  Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy.  Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese.  So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States.  Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers. 
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
【小題1】The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________

Welcome to Cöteborg University
Cöteborg University is one of Sweden’s largest and most popular universities.
We are very proud of this and believe that there are several reasons for our popularity. The principal reasons we believe to be the high quality of our education and research and the broad range of courses that we offer. In addition to this, Cöteborg University provides an attractive and exceptionally（格外的）high-standard study environment. Most parts of the university are situated in the city centre and this enriches city life as well as student life.
Cöteborg has a lot to offer its students: it has a rich and varied cultural life with many theatres, concerts and festivals. For those looking for outdoor life, forests and vast recreation（娛樂）areas are not far away from the city centre; the sea and the archipelago（群島）are also within easy reach. Industry and commerce are expanding, and have a joint interest with the University in meeting the ever-changing and growing demands of society.
Cöteborg University strives（努力）to be an attractive choice for students from all over the world.
We look forward to welcoming you to Cöteborg University.
56. The main reasons for Cöteborg University’s popularity according to the passage is ______ .
A. the high quality education and research and the wide range of courses
B. the convenient traffic
C. its excellent location and fast developing economical environment
D. famous professors and friendly students
57. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The university is in the city centre.
B. The students can live outdoor.
C. The cultural life of the university is very rich.
D. The University has no interest in growing demands of society.
58. What’s the main purpose of this passage?
A. To bring fame to Cöteborg University.
B. To introduce the wonderful cultural life in Cöteborg University.
C. To declare Cöteborg University’s goal and interest.
D. To attract students all over the world to apply for Cöteborg University.