We use the Internet for many things: business, shopping， writing letters, talking to people, finding information and so on. In recent years a new kind of English has grown on the Internet. There’s no real word for it yet, so we’ll call it e-talk. People don’t like typing too much. To save time, they turn phrases into a few letters called acronyms. Acronyms are often used in chat rooms. Some of them are.
BTW （by the way）   BRB (be right back)
LOL (laughing out loud) IMO (in my opinion)
People also use many abbreviations (縮寫), They are shortened forms of words. Some common abbreviations are:
Info (information)  puter (computer)
Pie (picture)       sec (second)
We usually don’t see people when we communicate (交流) on the Net, so people have new ways to show feelings. Most people use their keywords to draw “feeling”. such as:
:-)( happy)    :-p(joking)   :-( (sad)  :-0(surprised)
These days, many forums (論壇) have picture feelings. For example，

There are even whole new words, like” newbie’s”(someone who is new on a chat board or forum).
It takes time for people to get used to (適應(yīng)) e-talk. Also, different groups on the Net have their own special ways of communicating. Newbie’s have to ask other people what they mean. As the Internets grows, e-talk will continue to grow and change.
【小題1】What does the underline “acronyms” mean?
A.網(wǎng)友        B.聊天室      C.首字母縮寫詞
【小題2】Why do people type acronyms?
A. to show their feelings.
B. Because people can type them quickly.
C. In this way newbie’s won’t understand them.
【小題3】What does” BTW, my puter is not working well.:-(“mean?
A. The person is angry at somebody.
B. The person is happy about getting a new computer.
C. The person is sad that his computer is having problems.
【小題4】E-talk wills probably          .
A. keep changing.
B. be easy by people on the telephone
C. be used by people on the telephone
【小題5】What’s the best title for this passage?
A. E-talk language
B. Picture Feelings
C. How to Use Abbreviations

  Look! There are thousands of people waiting to buy tickets home in the railway station．Each time when Spring Festival comes，buying tickets of train trip would be very hard．And things seem to be getting worse and worse，although we have greatly increased the mileage(總里程) of railway network and speeded up trains．Why? It’s because too many people want to go back home to spend Spring Festival with their family．Many people become angry with the Ministry(部)of Railways．They wonder why it is hopeless for them to get the tickets from the railway station．Instead，they sometimes can only buy them from ticket scalpers at much higher price．
The Ministry of Railways estimated(估計(jì)) that about 216 million passengers would travel by train during the 40-day peak period(高峰期) during the 2010 Spring Festival holiday．The number of travelers will be 8％higher than that of 2009．This problem even attracted the President Hu Jintao’s attention．He wrote a note to Liu Zhijun，Minister of the Ministry of Railways，asking him to make sure of a “smooth and safe” transportation．Afterwards，officials from the Ministry of Railways said they would try their best not to let any ticket-buyers spend Spring Festival at the railway station．
【小題1】 What does the underlined word “scalper” in the first paragraph mean?

When Kyle walked into Ernie's Pet World, he looked very worried. He walked quickly to the front counter（柜臺）. The owner of the shop, Ernie, jumped out to greet Kyle. He was the shop's first shopper of the day.
"Good morning, sir!" Ernie said. "What can I help you with?"
"Well, I...," Kyle started to say.
"Wait, don't tell me," Ernie interrupted (打斷) him. "You're looking for a … a little dog... for
your daughter 's birthday.  Right?"
"No T really, l just..."
Ernie didn't let him finish. "Ah, I've got it, You just moved into a new house, and you want some fish for it. I have some very nice tanks over here."
"In fact, I..." Kyle was starting to look very nervous (緊張的). His face had a strange expression（表情）on it.
"No fish? Ah, a cat! You look like a cat person. At Ernie's Pet World, we have the best kinds. Take a look at this Persian — long, white hair, and look at that cute expression. She's looking at you. She's thinking, ‘Take me home. Take me home.’ Would you like some cat food and toys as well?"
"No, thank you," Kyle said. By this time, he was walking up and down. He had a pained (痛苦的) look on his face. "Really, I'm not interested in cats or fish or little dogs."
"What do you want, then?" Ernie asked.
Kyle looked like he was going to cry. "I just want to know if I can use your bathroom!" he finally said.
【小題1】 What does the writer want to tell us?

    “I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the net．”
“I often check my e-mail forty times a day．”
“1 often spend more than three hours during one time on the net．’’
“I spend more time in chat rooms(聊天室)than with my‘real—life’friends．”
Do you know who like these? They are part of a new addiction(癮)called Internet addiction. Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week．The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug(毒品)use．People lose control(控制)of the time they spend on the Internet．
For example, one college student was missing for several days．His friends were worried．a(chǎn)nd they called the po1ice．The police found the student in the computer lab：he was surfing the net for several days straight．
Studies show that about 6％to 10％of Internet users become addicted．And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them．They spend more time in cyber—space than in the real world of friends and family．
Is“surfing the net”a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms(癥狀)
●You do not go to important family activities or you do not do school work because you like to spend hours on the Internet．
●You can’t wait for your next online time．
●You plan to spend a short time online，but then you spend several hours．
●You go out with your friends less and less．
【小題1】What does the beginning of the passage tell us______ .

After my husband died, my world crashed around me. My six children were ten, nine, eight, six, three and 18 months, and I was overwhelmed(不知所措的) with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and simply keeping my head above water.
I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly(坦誠地) I was uneasy. Every unusual noise or any late-night phone call filled me with fear. I felt really alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. It was obvious he wanted to make the house his home. The children took an instant liking to “German” and asked me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement(地下室) until the next day. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us. 
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case(以免) his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He stayed again Sunday night.  
Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. We thought we’d never see him again. On Friday evening, German was back again. We took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. It went like this for almost 10 months. We looked forward to his coming. Each Monday morning he left home.
Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little braver, but every weekend I enjoyed being with him . Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again. I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned(被放棄的) and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone.
【小題1】What does the underlined part “keeping my head above water” in the first paragraph mean?