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Imagine you went to a restaurant with a date; had a burger, paid with a credit card, and left. The next time you go there, the waiter or waitress, armed with your profile data, greets you with, "Hey Joe, how are you? Mary is over there in the seat you sat in last time. Would you like to join her for dinner again?" Then you find out that your burger has been cooked and your drink is on the table. Forget the fact that you are with another date and are on a diet that doesn't include burgers. Sound a little bizarre? To some, this is restaurant equivalent of the Internet.The Net's ability to profile you through your visits to and interactions at websites provides marketers with an enormous amount of data on you—some of which you may notwant them to have.
Are you aware that almost every time you access a website you get a “cookie”？ Unfortunately, it’s not the Mrs. Reid’s type. A cookie on the Internet is a computer code sent by the site to your computer—usually without your knowledge. During the entire period of time that you are at the site, the cookie is collecting information about your interaction, including where you visit, how long you stay there, how frequently you return to certain pages, and even your electronic address. Fill out a survey to collect free information or samples, and marketers know even more about you—like your name, address, and any other information you provide. While this may sound scary enough, cookies aren’t even the latest in technology. A new system called I-librarian Alexa—named for the legendary third century B.C. library in Alexandria, Egypt—does even more. While cookies track what you are doing at one site, Alexa collects data on all your Web activity, such as which sites you visit next, how long you stay there, whether you click on ads，etc. All thisinformation is available to marketers, who use it to market more effectively to you. Not only do you not get paid for providing the information, you probably don’t even know that you are giving it.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.In the restaurant story, the author may most probably think the waiter or waitress was ________ 。
A. considerate
B. polite
C. irritating
D. unsmart
2.The author makes up the restaurant story in order to _______ 。
A.show the good service offered in some Web restaurants
B.criticize some restaurants for too considerate service
C.show the Internet’s ability to collect data on you
D.prove the incredible power of the Internet
3.What can be learned about “cookie” from the second paragraph?
A.It was first created by Mrs. Reid.
B.It collects information on you without your knowing it
C.It’s some information sent to your computer about yourself.
D.It’s the latest in technology.
4.What can be learned about "Alexa" from the second paragraph?
A.Alexa is named after an ancient hero in Egypt
B.Alexa is installed in libraries.
C.Alexa can collect all the necessary data on you.
D.Alexa can provide more data for marketers than a cookie.
5.Which of the following words can best reflect the author's attitude to cookies and Alexa?
A. Critical
B. Suspicious.
C. Objective.
D. Optimistic.
