Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age.We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text.Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line.But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation.

A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones.They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones.

Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships.

Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information.left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other.

Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions. Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said. “Reach for your e-reader, if you like. Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you'll never lose your place.”

1.The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows____________.

A.the new trend of slow reading

B.the decline of electronic devices

C.the importance of exchanging ideas

D.the increasing number of club readers

2.According to Patrick Kingsley, people are stupider partly because of_____________.

A.a non-stop reading pattern

B.the straight, left-to-right screen

C.a wide range of interesting news

D.the lack of reflection

3.According to the passage, slow reading___________.

A.contributes to understanding among people

B.promotes the current technology advances

C.provides people with a quiet environment

D.cures the memory loss of elderly people

4.What's the best title for the passage?

A.Benefit of Reading Clubs.

B.Return of Slow Reading.

C.Reading of the Internet Age.

D.Influence of Speed Reading.

Before leaving work, Steve Lee likes to use his cell phone to turn on his heat and air condition system at home. So by the time he gets through traffic into his front door, the temperature inside is perfect. You may wonder what a so-called smart home can do inside.

Lee works for a company called Smarthome. com, testing and living with many of his company’s home automation gadgets(自动化小配件), like this multifunction touch screen that controls devices around the house and even connects to the Internet traffic cameras.

“I have cameras, and they follow all the way down the freeway to work, ”said Lee with pride, “What’s going on at home when you are away? No problem, install some wireless cameras and controllers and from any computer in the world with an Internet connection, you can watch your house. ”

“You can check on the house, and I can look at the temperature. Believe it or not, if I want to turn on lights ahead of time, I can, ”added Lee.

We sat in Steve’s California kitchen and with the right password, turned on the kitchen counter lights at his boss’ house in Wisconsin. Steve did have permission to log on(登录).

“If you do know the password and you want to play a trick on your wife, you could turn lights on and off remotely. ”

This new technology, which can automatically turn on water sprinklers when humidity is low, or turn off a pool pump when it is not in use, is no longer expensive. Several hundred dollars for a basic system is enough and it is not hard to install.

Sure the convenience is nice but many people who like the security advantages like making sure kids are safe with the help of camera monitors and bedside alerts.

“I can notice that maybe one of my children wakes up in the middle of the night once the light switch is turned on. ”

What a smart home can’t do is get you a snack and you have to leave the couch for that.

1.What does the underlined word “password” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. Security code.

B. Crossword.

C. Passport.

D. Touch screen.

2.What can be inferred from this passage?

A. Steve’s boss trusted him very much.

B. Steve doesn’t like to play jokes on his family.

C. Steve could log on his boss’ home because he had been given the key.

D. It’s expensive and difficult to apply a basic smart home system.

3. According to the passage, the following is often a must for a smart home EXCEPT a .

A. cell phone B. computer

C. camera D. car

4. What can’t a smart home do according to the passage?

A. Turning on the light automatically.

B. Getting the owner some food.

C. Turning off a pool pump.

D. Watching over the home’s safety.

5. In which section of a newspaper will this passage probably be found?

A. Entertainment.

B. Science & Technology.

C. Health & Care.

D. Biography.

Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving (铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.

Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages (短缺).Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts (干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs.

Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there's a lot we can do to lower the number.

You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher (洗碗机) only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.

1.Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?

A. Using river water.

B. Paving parking lots.

C. Throwing batteries away.

D. Throwing rubbish into lakes.

2.What can be inferred from the text?

A.It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs.

B.All water shortages are due to human behavior.

C.There is much we can do to reduce family size.

D.The average family in America makes proper use of water.

3.The last paragraph is intended to ________.

A. show us how to fix leaks at home

B. tell us how to run a dishwasher

C. suggest what we do to save water at home

D. prove what drinking glass is best for us

4.The text is mainly about ________.

A. why paving roads reduces our water

B. how human activity affects our water supply

C. why droughts occur more in dry climates

D. how much we depend on water to live

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