【正文】 g personal information over the telephone or steal documents containing such information.Activist groups have called for new laws to protect the public from such thefts. Recently, a mittee of the United States Senate said it would hold hearings on this issue, working towards a feasible (可行的) solution.Two cases of identity theft helped the mittee to call the hearings. Last month, Bank of America said it lost some puter tapes containing personal information for more than one million federal employees, including some Senators and members of the Defense Department. Bank of America says it deeply regrets the incident.Earlier, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported that thieves stole about 150,000 personal records from ChoicePoint Incorporated. The pany sells Social Security numbers and credit information to other businesses. In 2002, a similar security violation reportedly affected about seven thousand people.American lawmakers will devise workable measures to increase supervision of panies that collect personal information. Several plans have been proposed to help individuals whose information was stolen. Another proposal would let Americans bring to an end to any investigation into their financial history without their permission.1. What is the passage mainly about?A. identity theft and societyB. the influence of identity theft on US peopleC. the situation of identity theft in the USD. personal security problems in the US2. What can we learn from the passage?A. Identity thieves usually steal personal information from banks.B. Victims of identity theft may be arrested for losing their financial recordsC. American lawmakers proposed to bring an end to any investigation into their financial history.D. Some American panies sell customers’ personal information to other panies.3. What does author mean by the word “devise” (line 1, the last paragraph)?A. conceive of B. criticize C. believe in D. result in4. ChoicePoint is mentioned in the passage to______A. show how serious the theft problems are in US.B. persuade people not to tell their information to panies.C. explain why a senate mittee made up its mind to call the hearing. D. criticize US government for its ignorance of this serious issue.5. What’s the author’s attitude towards the issue of identity theft in this passage?A. arbitrary B. concerned C. ironical D. indifferentPassage V. When school officials in Kalkaska, Michigan, closed classes last week, the media flocked to the story, portraying the town39。s 2,305 students as victims of stingy (吝嗇的) taxpayers. There is some truth to that。 the propertytax rate here is onethird lower than the state average. But shutting their schools also allowed Kalkaska39。s educators and the state39。s largest teachers39。 union, the Michigan Education Association, to make a political point. Their aim was to spur passage of legislation Michigan lawmakers are debating to increase the state39。s share of school funding. It was no coincidence that Kalkaska shut its schools two weeks after residents rejected a 28 percent propertytax increase. The school board argued that without the increase it lacked the $ million needed to keep schools open. But the school system had not done all it could to keep the schools open. Officials declined to borrow against next year39。s state aid, they refused to trim extracurricular activities and they did not consider seeking a smallerperhaps more acceptabletax increase. In fact, closing early is costing Kalkaska a significant amount, including 4600,000 in unemployment payments to teachers and staff and $250,000 in lost state side. In February, the school system promised teachers and staff two months of retirement payments in case schools closed early, a deal that will cost the district $ 275,000 more. Other signs suggest school authorities were at least as eager to make a political statement as to keep schools open. The Michigan Education Association hired a public relations firm to stage a rally marking the school closings, which attracted 14 local and national television stations and networks. The president of the National Education Association, the MEA39。s parent organization, flew from Washington, ., for the event. And to union tutored school officials in the art of television interviews. School supervisor Doyle Disbrow acknowledges the district could have kept schools open by cutting programs but denies the moves were politically motivated. Michigan lawmakers have reacted angrily to the closings. The state Senate has already voted to put the system into receivership (破產(chǎn)管理) and reopen schools immediately。 the Michigan House Plans to consider the bill this week. learn from the passage that schools in Kalkaska, Michigan, are funded . A)mainly by the state government B)exclusively by the local government C)by the National Education Association D)by both the local and state governments 32. One of the purposes for which school officials closed classes was . A)to draw the attention of local taxpayers to political issues B)to avoid paying retirement benefits to teachers and staff C)to pressure Michigan lawmakers into increasing state funds for local schools D)to make the financial difficulties of their teachers and staff known to the public author seems to disapprove of . A)the shutting of schools in Kalkaska B)the involvement of the mass media C)the Michigan lawmakers39。 endless debating D)delaying the passage of the school funding legislation learn from the passage that school authorities in Kalkaska are more concerned about . A)making a political issue of the closing of the schools B)the attitude of the MEA39。s parent organization C)a raise in the propertytax rate in Michigan D)reopening the schools there immediately to the passage, the closing of the schools developed into a crisis because of . A)the strong protest on the part of the students39。 parents B)the political motives on the part of the educators C)the weak