随着社交媒体的普及，有越来越多的人习惯在网上 “晒” 出自己生活的点点滴滴。但你有没有担心自己不慎在网上分享了私人信息？本期 “随身英语” 围绕网络个人隐私这个话题展开讨论。

词汇：sharing 分享

Some of us like to keep some things private – maybe we don’t want people knowing about our relationship status, our age or where we live – because these details are personal. The problem is, everywhere we go online, we seem to leave a digital footprint.

On our social media accounts, we often display things like our opinions, connections and holiday snaps. The issue is, how do we stop everybody seeing everything? Maybe we don’t want a random stranger knowing our favourite type of coffee. And cookies – there was a time they were just something nice to eat. Now they seem to be popping up on websites. So how can you stay more private?

There are some steps you can take. First, on your social media accounts, check your privacy settings. Many social media platforms allow everything to be visible by default, and the onus is on you to set your boundaries. And limiting the amount you share isn’t only confined to social media. There are many sites out there that help you to share documents – so a good tip may be to not put anything too private, like passwords, on there. One errant click may send it to the wrong person.

Finally, cookies are designed to improve your browsing experience by tracking and saving information about your visits to a site, helping to personalise your sessions. Deleting your browsing history may help, but there are certain apps which can block them if you don’t feel comfortable.

So, if you want to maintain your privacy online, maybe only share things you’d be happy with a stranger seeing – and if you don’t feel comfortable with cookies, you might decide to invest in some tech to block them. If that’s not enough, just don’t accept them and visit another site – and why not have a yummy cookie to eat instead?

词汇表

status 状况
personal 私人的
digital footprint 数字足迹
connections （常用作复数）人际关系，人脉
snap 快照，照片
cookie 饼干；互联网语境下指网站为辨别用户身份而存储在用户端设备上的小文件
pop up 弹出
platform 平台
default 默认设定
the onus 责任
boundary 界限
errant 出错的
browse 浏览
track 跟踪，追踪
session （访问网站的）一段时间
app 移动应用程序
block 屏蔽
tech 科技

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. According to the article, what personal details could be on your social media?

2. True or false? Many social media sites have default settings which allow strangers to see everything.

3. Why should you avoid putting passwords on document-sharing sites?

4. What do digital cookies do?

5. What steps can you take if you’re not comfortable with cookies?

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. Do you have any _______ inside the company we can talk to about our new product?

connections                 block                          snaps                         tracking

2. The _______ is on the employees to make sure their work is correct.

tracking                       onus                           sessions                     platforms

3. I don’t ask my colleagues how much money they make. It’s too _______.

boundary                     personal                     app                             default   

4. I love your holiday _______. You look so happy in them.

onus                            block                           platforms                    snaps  

5. You need to _______ users who write offensive comments.

cookie                         session                        block                          tracking

答案

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。  

1. According to the article, what personal details could be on your social media?
Your relationship status, age, address, details of connections and holiday photos may be on your social media.

2. True or false? Many social media sites have default settings which allow strangers to see everything.
True. Privacy settings on many social media platforms allow everyone to see everything.

3. Why should you avoid putting passwords on document-sharing sites?
Because you might accidentally share the information with someone.

4. What do digital cookies do?
Cookies are designed to improve your browsing experience by tracking and saving information about your visits to a site, helping to personalise your sessions.

5. What steps can you take if you’re not comfortable with cookies?
You can delete your browsing history or use an app to block them.

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. Do you have any connections inside the company we can talk to about our new product?

2. The onus is on the employees to make sure their work is correct.

3. I don’t ask my colleagues how much money they make. It’s too personal.

4. I love your holiday snaps. You look so happy in them.

5. You need to block users who write offensive comments.