One of those big social networking sites, Facebook, has attracted over 58 million members. Commentator Melody Cramer is no longer one of them. Here is what she shares with us about her story.
I deleted all 1,281 of my coworkers, secondgrade classmates and people who I don’t know at all. I shut down my account, completely. I’m 30, and I’ve been on Facebook since March of 2004, which makes me one of the website’s earliest users.
At first, I used it obsessively. If I had a free moment, I’d log on to see whether my friends had updated their profiles. I’d sit alone scrolling through these updates and then run into someone at a coffee shop and have nothing to say because I already knew everything about them, and they knew everything about me.
In November, I went to my tenyear high school reunion and was not pleasantly surprised. Lauren became a model, Josh went to law school, Dina was a teacher. I hadn’t talked to any of them since graduation, but I knew exactly what they were doing, both now and last week. But lately, I’m overwhelmed(应接不暇). Facebook opened up to everyone, not just college students, and my coworkers started to join, which meant they now knew what I was doing when I wasn’t at work.
And as a rule: you can NOT make friends with your coworkers because then they’ll ask you the next day. But I thought we were friends. And you are friends but not the kind of friends who tell each other what they do outside of work. So now the people you work with can see what you did last night, and you’re constantly worrying what people might say about what you did last night instead of actually doing anything tonight. So Iquit. I became a 30yearold Luddite, a person who is strongly against technology development. I’ve retuned to how the world worked when I was 20, before I knew when my friends and coworkers were counting down the seconds to vacation or entering a complicated relationship. I’m hoping life will be a lot simpler now. People will be more mysterious now that I actually have to talk to them to find out their favorite books or hobbies or neurosis(神经症). I don’t know when my college roommate goes to the supermarket, and I think I’m a better person for not knowing. In fact, you could say getting off a social network was the best thing I’ve done this week.
Melody Cramer decided to quit Facebook mainly because ______.
| A．she thought it wasted too much time |
| B．she was afraid of the strangers on her account |
| C．she was tired of exposing her life to coworkers |
| D．she thought it made realworld life less interesting |
We can learn from the passage that Melody Cramer ______.
| A．had a 10year membership of Facebook |
| B．used to be very objected to Facebook |
| C．was unpleasant to attend high school reunion |
| D．was one of the co-founders of Facebook |
Which of the following about Melody Cramer is TRUE?
| A．She owes her communication skills to Facebook. |
| B．She wishes she could be several years younger. |
| C．She prefers to face her friends and co-workers in reality. |
| D．She is no longer curious about anything around her. |
The best title for this passage can be _____.
| A．Addiction to Facebook |
| B．Farewell to Facebook |
| C．Friends Online |
| D．A Simpler Life |
Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee(拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法)to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher. What can we learn about the Character Hero?
| A．It’s open to people of all ages and all walks. |
| B．It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China. |
| C．It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world. |
| D．It draws great public attention across the country. |
Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?
| A．Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often. |
| B．Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy. |
| C．Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters. |
| D．Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology. |
According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is_________.
| A．necessary for adults to survive in China |
| B．a requirement made by the Education Ministry |
| C．helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive |
| D．an ability to be developed only when you are students |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A news report. | B．A science report. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．Children’s literature. |
Restaurants in the USA
Steve’s Pizza
So many pizza chains compete for the attention of tourists in South Beach, but ask a Miami Beach local where to get the best pizza and they’ll tell you about Steve’s. This is New York–style pizza, handmade with care and good ingredients(成份). New branches of Steve’s are opening elsewhere in Miami, all in non-tourist areas.
Opening hours: 11am-3am
Cattleman’s Steakhouse
This place is 20 miles east of the city, but local folks would probably drive 200 miles to eat here. The food is good, and the scenery is even better. Come early and wander around the grounds of Indian Cliffs Ranch, where you’ll see everything from rabbits to buffalo (水牛), then catch the sunset either before or after your meal.
Opening hours: 5pm-10pm
Absolute Baking & Cafe
The screen door is always swinging open at this town hot spot with giant breakfasts. Try the green chili on eggs – it’s made from scratch, as are the organic(有机的) breads. Lunch includes salads, big sandwiches and local grass-fed beef burgers. Don’t miss a square of soft, fresh carrot cake.
Opening hours: 7am-2pm
Walt’s Wharf
Everybody’s favorite for fresh fish (some drive in from LA), Walt’s packs them in on weekends. You can’t make reservations for dinner (though they’re accepted for lunch), but it’s worth the wait for the tree fire–grilled seafood and steaks in the many-windowed ground floor or upstairs in captain’s chairs.
Opening hours: 11am-3:30pmThe new branches of Steve’s Pizza are mainly intended for_________.
| A．New Yorkers | B．tourists | C．the locals | D．foreigners |
Cattleman’s Steakhouse offers the wonderful _________as well as good food.
| A．wine | B．view | C．discount | D．service |
Which restaurant serves both breakfast and lunch?
| A．Steve’s Pizza. | B．Walt’s Wharf. |
| C．Absolute Baking & Café. | D．Cattleman’s Steakhouse. |
A study notes that Some children are natural-born bosses. They have a strong need to make decisions, manage their environment, and lead rather than follow. Stephen Jackson, a Year One student, "operates under the theory of what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine," says his mother."The other day I bought two new Star Wars light sabers (剑). Later, I saw Stephen with the two new ones while his brogher was using the beat-up ones."
"Examine the extended family, and you'll probably find a bossy grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin in every generation. It's a common inheritable trait," says Russell Barkley, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Other children who may not be particularly bossy can gradually gain control when they sense their parents are weak, hesitant, or in disagreement with each other.
Whether it's inborn nature or developed character at work, too much control in the hands at the young isn't healthy for children or the family, Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior, says family psychologist John Taylor. Children, he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation, "have secret feelings of weakness" and "a desire to feel safe." It's the parents' role to provide that protection.
When a "boss child" doesn't learn limits at home, the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family. The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches, for example, or trouble keeping friends. It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways.
"I see more and more parents giving up their power," says Barkley, who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years."They bend too far because they don't want to be as strict as their own parents were. But they also feel less confident about their parenting skills. Their kids, in turn, feel more anxious."
Bossy children like Stephen Jackson _____.
| A．make good decisions |
| B．show self-centeredness |
| C．lack care from others |
| D．have little sense of fear |
The underlined phrase "inheritable trait" in Paragraph 2 means _____.
| A．inborn nature | B．accepted theory |
| C．developed character | D．particular environment |
The study on bossy behavior implies that parents _____.
| A．should not set limits for their children |
| B．should give more power to their children |
| C．should be strict with their children properly |
| D．should let children find sense of safety by themselves |
It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that bossy children may become
| A．relaxed and confident | B．hesitant and weak |
| C．lonely and anxious | D．willful and unbending |
Planning your to-do list for the coming year? To help you out，we've collected our favorite must-see events across Canada.
Red or White Wine
Every spring wine growers get together to celebrate the beginning of another grape-growing season at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. The best time to visit the Okanagan is usually from May 1st to 10th·The festival allows visitors to taste the best wines in Canada together with unique dishes representing the latest progress in local cuisine.
The Jazz Festival
Montreal's downtown comes alive every summer during the International Jazz Festival. This Year the event is scheduled to run from June 29th to July 9th·Stages replace cars along busy streets. With a host of free outdoor shows，you'll be snapping your fingers to anything from Dixieland to blues，African beats to modern trip-hop，and everything in between.
The Newfoundland Targa Rally
Just head east to the Newfoundland Targa Rally，which runs from September 9th to 16th this year. The 2，200-ki-lometre race dashes across the eastern and central parts of the province，and is the largest race of its kind in North America. On these sections you race against the clock rather than other competitors. This is a great chance to test your car's limits and your skills.
The Canadian Tulip Festival
In 1945，thousands of tulip bulbs（郁金香球根），gifts from Holland，were planted on Ottawa's Parliament Hill，Canada. These gifts were a thank-you to Canadian soldiers who helped set Holland free in World War II.Since then，the capital has become home to the Canadian Tulip Festival. From May 4th to 22nd，Ottawa and Gatineau will be covered with beautiful flowers. Besides three million tulips，visitors can also attend concerts，which feature some of Canada's brightest musical stars.
Wine lovers can have fun
| A．from May 4th to 22nd |
| B．from May 1 st to 10th |
| C．from June 29th to July 9th |
| D．from September 9th to 16th |
Holland is mentioned in the text to show
| A．the cruelty of World War II |
| B．the wisdom of Canadian soldiers |
| C．the origin of the Canadian Tulip Festival |
| D．the popularity of the Canadian Tulip Festival |
The text is most likely to be found in a book about
| A．popular events in Canada |
| B．the geography of Canada |
| C．historical events of Canada |
| D．traditional cultures in Canada |
Susan Sontag（1933-2004）was one of the most outstanding figures in the world of literature·For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything，to read every book worth reading，and to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s，she published essays in important magazines like Partisan Review.She appeared as the symbol of American culture life，trying hard to follow every new development in literature，film and art. With great effort and serious judgment，Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong mottos,but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In Notes on Camp, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. “Notes on Camp”, she wrote, represents “ a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By belief she was a sensualist（感觉论者）, but by nature she was a moralist, In Illness as Metaphor —published in 1978, after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a19thcentury Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000.But it was as a all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. “Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending …is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.The underlined sentence in paragraph 1 means Sontag_________.
| A．was a symbol of American cultural life |
| B．developed world literature, film and art |
| C．published many essays about world culture |
| D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture |
Sontag first won her name through ___________.
| A．her story of a Polish actress |
| B．her book Illness as Metaphor |
| C．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings |
| D．publishing essays in magazines like partisan Review |
Which of the following statements is TRUE？
| A．Sontag looked down upon the pop culture· |
| B．Sontag was a sensualist as well as a moralist. |
| C．Sontag blamed the victim of cancer for the disease. |
| D．Sontag thought content was more important than form. |
What would be the best title of the text？
| A．Susan Sontag，a Leading Figure in Culture |
| B．Susan Sontag，a Productive and Tireless Writer |
| C．Susan Sontag，an Examiner of the Old Concepts |
| D．Susan Sontag，a Writer Defending Seriousness |
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