Whether you are logging on to your personal computer, using a credit card, or disarming a door security system, passwords or PINs (personal identification numbers) guard access to numerous regular operations.
It is estimated that within ten years, consumers could be faced with handling more than 100 passwords! Given the popularity of passwords, how can you choose ones that are sufficiently complicated to be secure yet are simple enough to remember?
There are basic guidelines to bear in mind. Don’t use as a password your name or that of a member of your family, even in modified form. Also avoid using your telephone number, your Social Security number, or your address. Such information can easily be obtained by a determined hacker.
In addition, if possible, don’t use passwords made up entirely of letters or digits. A relatively simple computer program can crack such a code quickly. Finally, do not use a word that can be found in any dictionary, even a foreign-language one. Huge lists are available that contain words, place names, and proper names from all languages. Programs can test for variations of these words, such as if they are spelled backward, capitalized, or combined.
So, what kinds of passwords should be used? Usually ones that have a minimum of six to eight characters and that have a mixture of upper-and lower-case letters, digit and punctuation symbols. How difficult is it to crack such a combination of characters? One source says, “A machine that could try one million passwords per second would require, on the average, over one hundred years.”
How can you choose a combination that is easy to remember? Some suggest that you take the title of a favorite book or film or a line from a song or poem and use the first letter from each word as your password, adding capital letters, punctuation, or other characters. For example, “to be or not be” could become “2B/not 2B.”
Other suggestions include taking two short words and link them with a punctuation character, such as “High? Bug” or “Song; Tree”.
Taking into account the suggestions outlined above can help you to protect important information from unwanted hackers. Remember, too, the importance of changing your passwords regularly. Just a final comment: Whatever passwords you decide to use, don’t pick any of the examples given above.
1. What is the main idea of this passage?
2. Why shouldn’t we use a word that can be found in any dictionary as a password?
3. If you are choosing a password for your computer, which of the following is the best choice?
4. How can you choose a password that is both secure and simple to remember?
5. The word “Given” in Paragraph 2 can be best replaced by（ ）.
问题1选项
A.How to strengthen security through a password.
B.How to choose a password that is easy to remember.
C.How to prevent your password from being cracked.
D.How to choose a safe and convenient password.
问题2选项
A.Because it can be easily remembered by a computer hacker.
B.Because computer programs can crack it.
C.Because computer hackers are determined to crack it.
D.Because the lists are so huge that the words are not easy to remember.
问题3选项
A.iaHgnahs
B.19730508
C.2B/not 2B
D.Re-B, pl2
问题4选项
A.Taking the title of your favorite book or film.
B.Taking a line from a song or poem you like best.
C.Making up a nonsensical word which cannot be found in any dictionary.
D.Using two short words linked with a punctuation character.
问题5选项
A.Fixed
B.Granted
C.Supposed
D.Presented
第1题:D
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:D
第5题:C
1.主旨大意题。题干：这篇文章的主旨是？这文章全文是关于“密码”。文章第一段就出现了passwords和PINs。第二段即引出文章主旨，如何选择既安全又简单易记的密码。后面的内容对这个问题做出了回答，所以选项D“如何选择一个安全方便的密码”正确。A选项“如何通过密码加强安全性”，是文章第五段的主要内容。B选项“如何选择一个容易记住的密码”，是文章第六段的主要内容。C选项“如何防止你的密码被破解”，是文章第三，四段的主要内容。综上所述，本题的正确答案是D选项。
2.事实细节题。题干：为什么我们不能用一个在任何字典里都能找到的词作为密码呢?由题干定位到第四段第三、四、五句话Finally, do not use a word that can be found in any dictionary, even a foreign-language one. Huge lists are available that contain words, place names, and proper names from all languages. Programs can test for variations of these words, such as if they are spelled backward, capitalized, or combined.（最后，不要使用任何词典中都能找到的词，即使是外语词典。巨大的列表是可用的，包含单词，地名，和来自所有的语言的专有名称。比较简单的计算机程序能够很快地破译这类密码，比如它们是倒写、大写还是组合。），所以本题B选项“因为计算机程序可以破解它”，符合题意。A选项“因为电脑黑客很容易记住它”，是因为容易被破解所以不能用，并没有提到是否容易记忆，A选项排除。C选项“因为电脑黑客会下定决心破解它”，文章提到是有程序可以破解，而不是黑客会下决心破解，所以C选项不符合题意。D选项“因为单词表是如此之大以至于单词不容易记住”，在文中并没有提及。综上所述，本题的正确答案是B选项。
3.推理判断题。如果你正在为你的电脑选择一个密码，以下哪个是最好的选择?根据第四段第一句话In addition, if possible, don’t use passwords made up entirely of letters or digits.（另外，如果可能的话，不要使用完全由字母或数字组成的密码。），可排除A和B选项。这篇文章的最后一句讲到Just a final comment: Whatever passwords you decide to use, don’t pick any of the examples given above.（无论你决定选择什么密码，不要采用上面提到的任何一个例子。），而C选项正是文章所给的例子，所以排除。所以只有D选项，有不同种类的符号、数字、横线等的组合，才是最好的选择。综上所述，本题的正确答案是D选项。
4.推理判断题。题干：如何选择既安全又容易记忆的密码呢？根据文章第七段Other suggestions include taking two short words and link them with a punctuation character（还有建议就是使用两个简短的单词，并用标点符号将它们连接起来），可知D选项“用两个简短的单词连上一个标点符号”，符合题意。根据文章第六段第二句Some suggest that you take the title of a favorite book or film or a line from a song or poem and use the first letter from each word as your password, adding capital letters, punctuation, or other characters.（有人建议你用最喜欢的书或电影的标题，或一首歌曲或一首诗的台词，把每个单词的首字母作为你的密码，加上大写字母、标点符号或其他字符。），可知，A选项“选你最喜欢的书或电影的名字”和B选项“从你最喜欢的歌或诗中选取一句”，都不全面，选择书或者电影名字会容易被程序破解，所以B，C都不正确。C选项“编了一个在任何字典里都找不到的无意义的词”，随便编出来的没有意义的词会很容易忘记，所以C选项排除。综上所述，本题的正确答案是D选项。
5.推理判断题。题干：第二段的“Given”，可以由单词________替代。由题干定位到第二段It is estimated that within ten years, consumers could be faced with handling more than 100 passwords! Given the popularity of passwords, how can you choose ones that are sufficiently complicated to be secure yet are simple enough to remember?（据估计，在10年内，消费者可能要处理100多个密码！考虑到密码的流行，你如何选择一个足够复杂的安全而又足够简单的记忆密码呢?），A选项“确定，固定”，B选项“授予，允许”，C选项“假定，设想”，D选项“提出，提供”。文章是对10年后情况的推测，所以应该选择C选项符合题意。
