Passage 1

    The Information Highway is the road that links computer users to a large number of on-line services: the Web, e-mail, and software, to mention just a few. Not long ago, the information Highway was a new road, with not many users. Now, everyone seems to want to take a drive, with over 30 million families connected worldwide. Not surprisingly, this well-traveled highway is starting to look like a well-traveled highway. Traffic jams can cause many serious problems, forcing the system to close down for repair. Naturally, accidents will happen on such a crowded road, and usually victims are some files, gone forever. Then, of course, there's Mr. Cool, with his new broad-band connection, who speeds down the highway faster than most of us can go. But don't trick yourself; he pays for that speeding.

Passage 2

    Want to know more about global warming and how you can help prevent it? Doctor Herman Friedman, who is considered a leading expert on the subject, will speak at Grayson Hall next Friday. Friedman studied environmental science at three well-known universities around the world before becoming a professor in the subject. He has also traveled around the world observing environmental concerns. The gradual bleaching (变白) of the Grate Barrier Reef, which came into the public eye in 2002, is his latest interest. Signed copies of his colorful book, which was published just last month, will be on sale after his talk.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Do you like air travel with a service dog? Air travel makes some people very nervous. The crowds, the noise and flying itself can cause unease. But there are classes people can take to help them defeat their fear of flying. And, let me introduce similar training for service dogs that suffer the same problem

Service dogs almost never leave the side of the people they care for. You will see them working on buses, trains and other public transport systems. But the busy environment found at an airport can trouble even the best trained working dog.

    People with disabilities depend on their dogs. They want the animals to safely guide them through security areas. They also need the dogs to remain calm on duty on the plane, even when the flying is not smooth. This takes special training. The Air Hollywood K9 Flight School is one place where such help can be found.

    The school has a piece of equipment that provides the sights, sounds and even the feel of an airplane in flight. It is called a flight simulator, which was built for filming airplane scenes in movies.

    Sandy Alexander has a disability that requires his two-year-old dog, Doc, to be always at his side. Mr. Alexander took the dog to the flight school to get him ready for plane trips. He says Doc did not like the bumpy part of the flight simulation( 模拟).

    Dog trainer Mary Segall is with Canine Companions for Independence. It provides dogs for people with disabilities. Ms Segall says successful training is based on a simple rule: preparation.

    " Dogs need to be exposed gradually and repetitively to stimulation, to the environment, to loud noises, to sounds and to other dogs so that when this experience happens to them on a daily basis, they are  able to act in a way that they're used to acting and that they don't get excitable."

    Dog owners who attended the training at Air Hollywood K9 Flight School say they now feel much more at ease about future flight. Their dogs also seem ready for take-off.

    Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall

    At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city

    Monday, 7th of January until Sunday, 1 3th of January 2008

    Feast until you're full!

    Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets. Order from the following:

    Succulent chicken rice     • Spicy satay beef            •DeliciOus noodle dishes

    Plump pork chops            • Seafood specialties         • Crunchy vegetables

    Sweet tropical fruit

    10% discount on all orders above $ 20.00

    Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven.

    Win Prizes and Gifts!

    Spend $ 20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box.

    Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner.

    Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls.

    Win a holiday to Westem Australia. A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt. Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided.

    Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January.

    Join in the Fun!

    Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you:

    May Lee      • Jackie Chen       • Kim Yap             • Kamal

    Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out.

    As anyone who freelances (做自由职业) knows, there are lots of advantages of working at home alone. But there are drawbacks too, like the potential loneliness. No wonder co-working spaces are becoming so popular, they permit self-employed individuals to feel like they are part of all office environment, while making them get some work done too. But renting a co-working space does cost money.

    Now a Swedish project is aiming to change that by turning people's under-used homes into temporary co-working spaces, available to freelancers for free. Hoffice was started by freelancers Christofer Gradin Franzen and Johline Zandra about a year ago in Stockholm when they invited a few people into their home office to work together. It was a great success, and the project has since spread to a number of cities in Europe, North and South America, Australia, India and Japan. Anyone can sign up and offer their home space as a free co-working space, or go find a Hoffice near them.

    On a Hoffice day, everyone arrives and starts work at a certain hour. After 45 minutes，everyone gets up to take a break, stretch, do qigong or yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards， people can gather around again, and re-state their intentions and goals for the rest of the work day, as a way to motivate each other. Meals can be eaten together at a certain hour, potluck-style (家常饭) or by bringing their own lunch.

    This process creates an encouraging and supportive work environment. As some freelancers describe, "By working at Hoffice, we give ourselves and each other the gift to spend our days in a social working environment, where we are extremely productive without ignoring our other human needs. We also make sure to give ourselves and each other what we need to feel calm, happy, inspired and creative during the working day."

    So Hoffice is not just about sharing space; it's also about a free exchange of ideas. And perhaps the best thing is that Hoffices are free to use.

    About a month after I joined Facebook, I got a call from Lori Goler, a highly regarded senior director of marketing at eBay. She made it clear this was a business call. "I want to apply to work with you at Facebook," she said. "Instead of recommending myself, I want to ask you: What is your biggest problem, and how can I solve it?"

    My jaw hit the floor. I had hired thousands of people over the previous decade and no one had ever said anything remotely like that. People usually focus on finding the right role for themselves, with the implication that their skills will help the company. Lori put Facebook's needs front and center. It was a killer approach. I responded, "Recruiting is my biggest problem. And, yes, you can solve it."

    Lori never dreamed she would work in recruiting, but she jumped in. She even agreed to trade earnings for acquiring new skills in a new field. Lori did a great job running recruiting and within months was promoted to her current job, leading People@Facebook.

    The most common metaphor for careers is a ladder, but this concept no longer applies to most workers. As of 2010, the average American had eleven jobs from the ages of eighteen to forty-six alone. Lori often quotes Pattie Sellers, who came up with a much better metaphor: "Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder."

    As Lori describes it, there's only one way to get to the top of a ladder, but there are many ways to get to the top of a jungle gym. The jungle gym model benefits everyone, but especially women who might be starting careers, switching careers, getting blocked by external barriers, or reentering the workforce after taking time off. The ability to create a unique path with occasional dips, detours (弯路), and even dead ends presents great views of many people, not just those at the top. On a ladder, most climbers are stuck staring at the butt of the person above.

    Everybody hates rats (big mice). But in the earthquake capitals of the world — Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey — rats will soon be man's best friends.

    What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

    How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal (信号). This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

    Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, "Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that." Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity!

    The "rat project" is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Organization in Scotland says, "It would be wonderful. A rat could get into spaces we couldn't get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe." Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).