Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality.
People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological（病态的）relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．advantage | B．attraction | C． adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.
| A．attract people to buy their products | B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life | D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral. | B．Sceptical. | C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
As people were rushing up to get cards for Mother’s Day 2006, the editors of Insparenting. Com had a big question inside their mind, “What is a mother to you?” They feel every person has different opinions about a woman called “mother”.
In one of the designs of Hallmark’s latest Mother’s D
ay cards, it describs, “mother” is a woman who makes this world a warm and happy place. At the other card, a “mother” is described as a woman who puts her home and family first, and if she is tired, she never lets it out.
What will other people say? To find out that, on this Mother’s Day(May 14th, 2006) , Insparenting. Com launches a new survey “ What Is A Mother to You?”.
According to the editor of Insparenting. Com, Adwina Jackson, Mother’s Day is a special day for everyone! That is why her team uses this day to honor mothers all over the world by launching a survey about “mother”. “This survey is also to express thanks or gratitude and to show appreciation for friends, family who are mothers, as well as other important women who have had a mothering influence,” said Jackson
Using sophisticated database technology（先进的数据库技术）, Insparenting. Com will pubish the answer to “ What Is a Mother to You?” once responses to its survey have been tabulated（制成表格）from around the world. This survey is for everyone, all age, all gender and all status. All paricipates in the survey will be added to a special noticification list altering when survey results are published. Insparenting. Com observes Mother’s Day 2006 by______.
A, sending cards to mothers all over the world
B. launching a theme survey around the world
C. publishing people’s opinions about “mother”
D. designing cards with praising words on both sides Which of the following is not the possible reason for Insparenting. Com to launch a survy about “mother”?
| A．To honour mothers all over the world. |
| B．To express thanks for their friends and family who are mothers. |
| C．To show appriciation for those who have had mothering influence. |
| D．To find out how many people love their mothers. |
What does the underlined word “gratitude” probably mean?
| A．honor | B．respect | C．appriciation | D．praise |
What are the results of the survey?
| A．People have different opinions about “mother”. |
| B．“Mother” is a woman who makes the world warm and happy. |
| C．“Mother” always puts the interest of her family before her owns. |
| D．The results haven’t been published so far. |
What is the suitable title for the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day 2006, World Survey |
| B．How to Celebrate Mother’s Day |
| C．Making Cards for Mother’s Day |
| D．What Is a Mother to You |
More parents are looking to cellphones to help keep their children safe. But mom and dad should be careful: Kids who talk on a cellphone may be more likely to step into traffic. Children should learn to end phone conversations before they prepare to step into traffic.
While research shows that older kids and more experienced users also don’t navigate(穿行于) streets as well while on a cellphone, younger children tends to find the small tools more distracting(令人分心的).
“Kids of this age are just learning to cross the street on their own, ”says David-Schwebel, a co-author of the study. “They’re beginners. ”
Kids don’t need to be stopped from chatting on the phone when outside,
however. Instead, parents simply should instruct them to finish their conversations before crossing the street.
“I don’t think this means parents should take phones away from their kids, ”says Schwebel. “I encourage families to get cellphones for their children. They’re more helpful than harmful, if they’re used in a safe way. ”
Other distractions, such as conversations with friends, listening to music, and text messaging, may also cause problems for children in this age group. The researchers expect to study the effect of those types of distractions in the future.
Experts in child safety approved the cellphone study. “If you’re talking on a cellphone, you’re not paying much attention to the environment around you, ” says Susan Baker, a professor.
Brooke Carlson, a 44-year-old mom, has noticed how riveted her 9-year-old son is when he’s talking on the cellphone. Although she’d never thought of the dangers of crossing traffic while on the phone, Carlson says, “Now that I know about it, it makes total sense. ”She plans to have a chat with her child about cellphones and street safety.
For younger kids, parents might consider purchasing a phone with a plan that only allows the child to call up his or her parents. That way the cellphone can be used for emergencies, but not for chatting with friends for hours. In Schwebel’s opinion, _____ .
| A．kids are still too young to walk on the street alone |
| B．kids don’t know how to use cellphones appropriately |
| C．kids have little experience in crossing the street alone |
| D．kids are not experienced cellphone users |
Which of the following is Schwebel in favor of?
| A．Children shouldn’t be allowed to have a cellphone. |
| B．Children should be forbidden to chat on the phone when outside. |
| C．Cellphones do more harm to children than other distractions. |
D．Parents should teach kids about cellphones and street safety. |
The underlined word “riveted” may mean“_____”.
| A．confused | B．absorbed |
| C．dangerous | D．excited |
According to the passage, what does Mrs Carlson know?
| A．There are dangers of crossing streets while on the phone. |
| B．Her 9-year-old son is not interested in talking on the phone. |
C．Cellphones are more helpful than harmful to children . |
| D．Kids don’t pay attention to the environment when talking on the phone. |
The purpose of writing this passage is to _____.
| A．advise parents not to buy cellphones for children |
| B．introduce a phone that only allows kids to call up parents |
| C．expect kids not to talk on cellphones while on the street |
| D．expect people to use cellphones less in daily life |
It is natural that children are curious (好奇的) about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world. Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world. For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
Of course, scientists cannot answ
er all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．People are curious in the same way. |
| B．People in different countries are interested in different things. |
| C．Men and women are curious about different things. |
| D．People of different ages are interested in different things |
Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
| A．the earth , the oceans and the sky | B．man-made things |
| C．plants and animals | D．ocean water |
When you run, your muscles need ____.
| A．more nutrition and oxygen | B．more signals |
| C．more salt | D．water |
A rock cracks _____.
| A．in wet regions | B．in dry regions |
| C．at very high or very low temperatures | D．when salty water falls in |
People are always curious because ____.
| A．they cannot explain many things | B．they know nothing about the world |
| C．they know little about the world | D．they want to be scientists |
Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea．People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea．Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added．She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a pie
ce of cake at three or four o’clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?
| A．The Britons got expensive tea from India. |
| B．Tea reached Britain from Holland. |
C．The Bri tons were the first people in Europe who drank tea. |
| D．It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea. |
This passage mainly discusses_____________.
| A．the history of tea drinking in Britain |
B．how tea became a popular drink in Br itain |
| C．how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea |
| D．how tea-time was born |
Tea became a popular drink in Britain.
| A．in eighteenth century | B．in sixteenth century |
| C．in seventeenth century | D．in the late seventeenth century |
People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because.
A．it tasted like milk
B．it tasted more pleasant
C．it became a popular drink
D．people tried to copy the way Madame de Servinge drank tea
60．We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain mostly resulted from the influence of ________.
A．a famous French lady B．the ancient Chinese
C．the upper social class D．people in Holland
Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you are awake because you can control your behavior, but when you are asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their positions. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to displease people. So you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t quite sure of yourself.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You always stick to your own opinions or judgment, but you don’t raise your hope too much. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well—balanced personality. You know your strengths and weakness. You’re usually careful. You believe in yourself. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get sad. You always say what you think even if it makes people rather angry.According to the passage, a person, who is not willing to change his mind and hard to deal with, probably sleeps ___.
| A．on his side | B．on his back | C．curled up | D．on his stomach |
If a person prefers to sleep curled up rather than on his back, he may be well content to ____.
| A．do things personally. | B．stay alone | C．keep things secret | D．trust others easily |
Which of the following people, in the author’s opinion, most likely have personalities opposite to each other ?
| A．The people sleeping on their stomach and those sleeping on his backs. |
| B．The people sleeping on their sides and those sleeping curled up. |
| C．The people sleeping on their backs and those sleeping on their sides. |
| D．The people sleeping curled up and those sleeping on their stomach. |
What the author mainly intends to tell us is that _______.
| A．one’s sleeping position has something to do with （与……联系）one’s character. |
| B．everyone has got both real and secret personalities. |
| C．the position in which one goes to sleep is the most important one. |
| D．when awake, one does not show one’s secret personality. |
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