When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you’re at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it.
Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it’s the third most addictive thing in modern life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their desire to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships.
With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, its air of complexity, the cell phone connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away. In just the past couple of years, the cell phone has challenged individuals, employers, phone makers and counselors(顾问) in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined.
The costs are becoming even more evident, and I don’t mean just the monthly bill. Dr. Chris Knippers, a counselor at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality.
Sounds extreme, but we’ve all witnessed the evidence: The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him.
Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?
Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell-phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation. He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don’t have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says.
If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it’s because it has become very widespread. Consider that in 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use. Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them. They far outnumber wired phones in the United States.Which of the following best explains the title of the passage?
| A．Cell phone users smoke less than they used to. |
| B．More people use cell phones than smoke cigarettes. |
| C．Cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes. |
| D．Using cell phone is just as cool as smoking cigarettes. |
The underlined word “curb” in Paragraph 2 means __________.
| A．control | B．ignore |
| C．develop | D．rescue |
The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea that .
| A．women use cell phones more often than men |
| B．talking on the phone while driving is dangerous |
| C．cell phones make one-on-one personal contact easy |
| D．cell phones do not necessarily bring people together |
My granddaughter, Shari, owns The Berry (莓果) Factory in Sacramento, California, and her mother, Joan, and I were helping with the Valentine’s Day rush. We’d dipped (浸泡) hundreds of berries, arranged gift baskets and packaged orders to be shipped around the country.
By the end of the day, the two middle-aged women, Joan and I, were exhausted. Shari didn’t seem tired. That was typical Shari. Though she was very busy, I’d seen her give away berries to everybody — parking attendants, mail carriers and hairdressers. “For me?” they would say, bursting into a smile.
As a “thank you”, Shari took us out for dinner. But there was a 45-minute wait at her favorite restaurant. “No big deal. There’s another place just up the road,” she said, driving us there. This time we walked right in.
When the waitress came to take our drink orders, Shari reached into her handbag, pulling something out. “I want you to have these,” she said, handing the waitress a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries. “She will love those berries!” I thought. But the waitress seemed startled. She only let out a “thank you” before grabbing the box and rushing into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, the waitress returned with our iced tea. “I apologize,” she said. “My best friend and I had promised to send each other something every Valentine’s Day. But she passed away last year. I didn’t know how I’d get through this day without her. Then you handed me that box.”“I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Shari. “It’s not much, but I hope you can enjoy them.”“Oh, I will,” the waitress said. “See, every year we always sent each other the same thing; a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries bought from our favourite store, The Berry Factory.”What can be inferred in the first paragraph?
| A．The Berry Factory is a gift store |
| B．The Berry Factory has few shop clerks. |
| C．The Berry Factory has many branches around the country |
| D．The Berry Factory has customers from different parts of the country. |
Which of the following words can best describe Shari?
| A．Talkative | B．Creative | C．Kind-hearted | D．Well-known |
The underlined word “startled” in Paragraph 4 probably means _________.
| A．shocked | B．excited | C．tired | D．frightened |
We can learn from the last paragraph that _________.
| A．the waitress’ best friend didn’t like chocolate |
| B．the waitress’ best friend broke up with her |
| C．the waitress’ best friend worked for Shari |
| D．the waitress’ best friend was Shari’s customer |
“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.
Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.
A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.
Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.
It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.
I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.
As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.
Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?
| A．Make the best of a bad job. |
| B．Rome was not built in a day. |
| C．All is not gold that glitters. |
| D．A good heart conquers ill fortune. |
What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?
| A．She became famous through her family background. |
| B．She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks （挫折）in her life. |
| C．She is a British talk show host. |
| D．She became successful by her own effort. |
The writer quoted（引用） the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.
| A．luck is in your own hand |
| B．bad luck can turn into good |
| C．you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you |
| D．man can conquer nature |
From the experiment Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.
| A．lucky people are quick-minded |
| B．unlucky people are slow to read |
| C．lucky people often have an open mind |
| D．unlucky people are more creative |
The underlined word “spot” is the closest in meaning to“________”．
| A．discover | B．mark | C．make | D．receive |
America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect （影响） American society in many ways --- education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society - one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior （行为）is suitable （合适） at different ages.
A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say, ‘I am much younger than my mother - or my father - was at my age.’ No one says ‘Act your age’ anymore. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.From the passage, we know in America____.
| A．they used to go to school or stop work at a certain age |
| B．people won’t tell you their social position |
| C．the children no longer go to school. |
| D．people hold the old ideas about the age as before |
It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America .
| A．has made people feel younger |
| B．has changed people’s social position |
| C．has changed people’s understanding of age |
| D．has slowed down the country’s social development |
The underlined word ‘one’ refers to .
| A．a society | B．America | C．a place | D．population |
‘Act your age’ means people should _______ .
| A．be active when they are old |
| B．do the right thing at the right age |
| C．show respect for their parents young or old |
| D．take more physical exercise suitable to their age |
If a 25-year-old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it .
| A．normal | B．wonderful | C．unbelievable | D．unreasonable |
During the summer holidays there will be a revised(修改过的) schedule(时刻表) of services for the students. Changes for dining-room and library service hours and for bus schedules will be posted on the wall outside of the dining-hall. Weekly film and concert schedules, which are being arranged, will be posted each Wednesday outside of the student club.
In the summer holidays, buses going to the town center will leave the main hall every hour on the half hour during the day. The dining-room will serve three meals a day from 7: 00 am to 7: 00 pm during the week and two meals from noon to 7: 00 pm on weekends. The library will continue its usual hours during the week, but have shorter hours on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekend hours are from noon to 5: 00 pm.
All students who want to use the library borrowing services must have a new summer card. This announcement will also appear in the next week’s student newspaper. The main purpose of this announcement is to _________.
| A．tell students of important schedule changes | B．tell students of new bus and library services |
| C．show the excellent services for students | D．ask students to renew their library cards |
At which of the following times will the bus leave the main hall?
| A．8: 00, 9: 00, 10: 00, 11: 00 | B．8: 00, 9: 30, 10: 30, 11: 30 |
| C．8: 30, 9: 00, 9: 30, 10: 00 | D．8: 00, 9: 30, 11: 00, 12: 30 |
Times for films and concerts are not listed in this announcement because _________.
| A．they are not to be announced | B．they are hard to arrange |
| C．the full list is not ready | D．the full list is too long |
In the summer holidays, the library will have _________.
| A．no special hours | B．special hours on weekdays |
| C．special hours on weekends | D．special hours both on weekdays and weekends. |
We may infer that during the summer holidays _________.
| A．the student newspaper will sell more copies | B．there will be a concert or a film once a week |
| C．many students will stay in the university | D．no breakfast will be served on weekends |
“Can I see my baby？” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby’ s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed(叹息), knowing that his life was to be misfortunate. He cried to his mum “A boy, a big boy... called me a freak (怪人)．”
He grew up, handsome. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. “But you might communicate with other young people，” his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’ re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’ s a secret.” The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared.
Later he married and became a lawyer. One day, he asked his father, “Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her.” “I do not believe you could，” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.”
The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother’ s casket棺材. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show the mother had no outer ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut，” his father whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？”Why did Mother gasp when she saw her newborn baby?
| A．Because her son had a tiny face. | B．Because she saw her son crying. |
| C．Because her son was born imperfect. | D．Because her son was in her arms. |
Which word can describe Mother’ s feeling when the son threw himself into her arms?
| A．Nervous. | B．Sympathetic. | C．Proud. | D．Angry. |
We can infer that the person who donate the ears is_____.
| A．A doctor. | B．His father. | C．His mother. | D．A stranger. |
From the passage we know the followings are True except________
A, the mother felt sorry for the son without ears B. the doctor didn’t like the baby
C. the boy meant everything to the mother D. the father kept the secret until mother diedThe best title for the passage would be ________.
| A．Mother’s hair | B．An unforgettable memory |
| C．Who gave me the ears? | D．Who is my best respectable person? |
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