It appears that the police now have a device that can read license plates and check if a car is unregistered, uninsured or stolen. We already know that National Security Agency can dip into your Facebook page and Google searches. And it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home phone number and ZIP code as part of any deal. So when Edward Snowden -- now cooling his heels in Russia -- revealed the extent to which the NSA is spying on Americans, collecting data on phone calls we make, it's not as if we should have been surprised. We live in a world that George Orwell predicted in 1984. And that realization has caused sales of the 1949, dystopian novel to spike dramatically upward recently -- a 9,000% increase at one point on Amazon. com. Comparisons between Orwell's novel about a tightly controlled totalitarian future ruled by the everywhere-present Big Brother and today are, in fact, quite similar. Here are a few of the most obvious ones. Telescreens -- in the novel, nearly all public and private places have large TV screens that broadcast government propaganda , news and approved entertainment. But they are also two-way monitors that spy on citizens, private lives. Today websites like Facebook track our likes and dislikes, and governments and private individuals hack into our computers and find out what they want to know. Then there are the ever-present monitoring cameras that spy on the ordinary people as they go about their daily routine. The endless war -- In Orwell's book, there's global war that has been going on seemingly forever, and as the book's hero, Winston Smith, realizes the enemy keeps changing. One week we're at war with Eastasia and friends with Eurasia. The next week, it's just the opposite. There seems little to distinguish the two opponents, and they are used primarily to keep the people of Oceania, where Smith lives, in a constant state of fear, thereby making disagreement unthinkable -- or punishable. Today we have the so-called war on terror, with no end in... Which of the following statements is TRUE? A) When Orwell wrote 1984, paper shredders didn't exist. B) The war with Eastasia makes people in Oceania fearful. C) Telescreens are used to broadcast and spy on citizens' privacy. D) Winston Smith loves Big Brother due to the fears of terrorism.
C
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B
Q: When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly's son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper. "Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, 'Jim, I love you and I'm always so proud of you.' I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people. "When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn't to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don't amount to much. "I won't get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, 'Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.' That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. " If there is any purpose at all for Jim's death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family... What did Polly think of Jim? A) He was a lovely boy with a beautiful smile who always loved others. B) He was physically sick but always happy. C) He was an irritating boy with some bad habits. D) He seldom expressed his love for his parents.
A: A
Q: Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services. People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things we need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money. Lots of the money today is made of paper. But people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells. Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Some Africans once used elephant tusks, monkey tails, and salt as money. The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the center. Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. Later, countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than the paper money used today. Money has had an interesting history, from the days of shell money until today. What was first used as money? _ . A) Elephants tusks B) Cloth C) Salt D) Shells
A: D