Windows 8, apart from Windows 95, is the biggest surprise and the only version of Microsoft’s operating system that has been changed from the core（核心）when compared to its former one. However, a recent study has shown that under 20% of business owners would be willing to upgrade to the new version of Windows. The reason for this remains to be discussed and debated, and we will try to throw light on this research by providing you with some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of Windows 8.

    Generally speaking, there are a great number of plus sides related to upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8.     www.sdzxlm.com 

    Speed—This is the biggest advantage to mention. Boot time has been reported to be up to nine times shorter than that with Windows 7.

    New passwords—Instead of typing your passwords, Windows 8 will let you use gestures on your favorite photos to enter your password. This is not only practical but also extremely cool!

    Windows 8 experience—Apart from computers, Windows 8 will be used on all devices, including smart phones, tablet PC’s and so on. Also, owing to the fact that it has been specifically designed with touch screen users in mind, Windows 8, besides using keyboard and mouse, will offer a whole new user experience.

However, there are still some disadvantages.

The first one that has to be mentioned is that there is no Start Menu from Windows. Yes, there is no Start button in the lower left corner, and this might be a real puzzle of many Windows users. Also, many users have had a problem to get used to the new interface（界面）introduced by Windows 8. The biggest problem that is worth noticing is that Windows 8 was originally designed for touch screen users, and this may have a bad effect on desktop users who have gotten used to doing everything with the help of their keyboard and mouse.

28. What does “plus sides” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to? c

A. Math symbols.   B. New rules.       C. Strengths.        D. Messages.

29. According to the text the greatest advantage of Windows 8 is its ______.

A. high speed B. complex passwords

C. unique experience D. new interface

30. From the text we can learn that Windows 8 ______.

A. no longer requires a password B. can be used on more than computers 

C. will be popular with desktop users D. was upgraded from windows 95

31. Many Windows 8 users face the problem that ______.

A. Start Menu is hidden in the lower left corner

B. they don’t get accustomed to the new interface 

C. keyboard and mouse can’t be used any longer

D. they have to use fingerprints instead of button

 

D

Born in the State of New York on May 14th, 1984, Mark Zuckerberg was an instant success. In his high school years, he was considered one of top students in the classics, before moving into the arts, sciences, and literature, again picking up high marks and receiving academic praise. It earned him admission to Harvard University.

    As a rebellious yet relatively quiet student, he created a website called Facemash in the university– an instantly controversial website that encouraged students to rate each other based on appearance.   www.sdzxlm.com

    The site was controversial for several reasons. The first was its illegal use of photographs, which the university and students took issue with. The second was its controversial nature – not every student like being ranked based on their appearance. The third was its huge resource use – while it was hosted on Harvard servers, it was the most popular page in the university’s entire network.

    Zuckerberg was soon forced to shut the site down, but its popularity and controversy had made him consider its future potential. He soon turned the simple site into a personal one for Harvard students, encouraging them to network with their peers at the college. It was then, together with his two friends, that they launched “The Facebook”, which immediately spread to other colleges and grew into a public service that anyone could access in the United States, whether to network with friends and family, or to play games.

    The company has been criticized frequently, nevertheless, Zuckerberg has remained true to his initial vision – to create a website that the entire world can use to communicate openly and easily with one another and to keep the user experience clean and pure. The end result is one of the world’s biggest online businesses.

    Although its true value is debatable, it’s safe to say that Facebook, and its creator Mark Zuckerberg, are two of the twenty-first century’s most influential, controversial, and potentially powerful figures.    www.sdzxlm.com

32. When Mark Zuckerberg was a student, he_____________________.

   A. was often praised by teachers for the website he created

   B. had good academic performance

   C. alone created a website called Facebook 

   D. encouraged students to set up business like him

33. The reason why Zuckerberg shut the site down was probably that__________.