The regular use of text messages and e-mails can lower the IQ more than twice as much as smoking marijuana (大麻). That is the statement of researchers who have found that tapping away on a mobile phone or computer keypad or checking for electronic messages temporarily knocks up to 10 points off the user’s IQ. This rate of decline in intelligence compares unfavorably with the four-point drop in IQ associated with smoking marijuana, according to British researchers, who have described the phenomenon of improved stupidity as “infomania”. The research conducted by Hewlett Packard, the technology company, has concluded that it is mainly a problem for adult workers, especially men.

It is concluded that too much use of modern technology can damage a person’s mind. It can cause a constant distraction of “always on” technology when employees should be concentrating on what they are paid to do. Infomania means that they lose concentration as their minds remain fixed in an almost permanent state of readiness to react to technology instead of focusing on the task in hand. The report also added that, in a long term, the brain will be considerably shaped by what we do to it and by the experience of daily life. At a microcellular level, the complex networks of nerve cells that make up parts of the brain actually change in response to certain experiences.

Too much use of modern technology can be damaging not only to a person’s mind, but to their social relationship. 1100 adults were interviewed during the research. More than 62 per cent of them admitted that they were addicted to checking their e-mails and text messages so often that they scrutinized work-related ones even when at home or on holiday. Half said that they always responded immediately to an email and will even interrupt a meeting to do so. It is concluded that infomania is increasing stress and anxiety and affecting one’s characteristics. Nine out of ten thought that colleagues who answered e-mails or messages during a face-to-face meeting were extremely rude.

The effects on IQ were studied by Dr Glenn Wilson, a psychologist at University of London. “This is a very real and widespread phenomenon,” he said. “We have found that infomania will damage a worker’s performance by reducing their mental sharpness and changing their social life. Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.”

1.We can learn from the passage that “infomania” ______.

A. has a positive influence on one’s IQ

B. results in the change of part of the brain

C. lies in the problem of lack of concentration

D. is caused by too much use of modern technology

2.The research mentioned in the passage is most probably about ______.

A. the important function of advanced technology

B. the damage to one’s brain done by unhealthy habits

C. the relevance between IQ and use of modern technology

D. the relationship between intelligence and working effectiveness

3.The underlined word “scrutinized” probably means “______”.

A. examined carefully B. copied patiently

C. corrected quickly D. admitted freely

4.What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The regular use of text messages and e-mails can be compared to smoking marijuana.

B. The regular use of text messages and e-mails can harm your IQ.

C. Modern technology can damage a person’s mind.

D. Electronic messages have side effects on the user’s life.

完形填空

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从1~20题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

We always celebrated my Dad’s November birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home. As years went on, these events took on a(n) meaning – a traditional birthday party for Dad, and a personal for all that he had done for me in my life.

When we knew that it might be Dad’s birthday, the whole family decided to come together for a huge birthday celebration at the nursing home. It was a crowded party ___all of us sitting around him. Dad was a wonderful , and here was a biggest audience he’d ever had.

During a quiet moment, I announced that it was now Dad’s turn to stories from us. I wanted everyone to tell Dad what we loved about him. , we told stories from our hearts, Dad listened with wet, flashing blue eyes. We all kinds of lost memories – stories about when we were little, stories about when Dad was young and stories that are shared as family . Even the littlest grandchildren couldn’t to tell their grandfather why they loved him. For a man who had been kind to so many people in his life, here was our to honor him.

A few months later, at Dad’s memorial service, we fully realized what we had given Dad that night. Those were the stories people normally tell at a . They are told, then, full of tears, with the hope that the departed will somehow hear the outpouring of love._ _ we had given those loving to Dad when he was , told through laughter, accompanied by hugs and joy. I’m sure the stories and memories over in his mind during his last months and days.

Words do , and they are enough. We need to say them, to speak them to the ones we love, for everyone else to hear. That’s the way to love, and our chance to honor a person in life.

1.A. originalB. modernC. complexD. double

2.A. congratulationB. wishC. thankingD. apology

3.A. lateB. lostC. livingD. last

4.A. withB. asC. thoughD. by

5.A. writerB. listenerC. storytellerD. reader

6.A. hear ofB. listen toC. make upD. talk about

7.A. Little by littleB. Now and thenC. All at onceD. One after another

8.A. ifB. becauseC. whileD. before

9.A. recalledB. recordedC. regrettedD. remembered

10.A. thoughtsB. treasuresC. possessionsD. tales

11.A. affordB. helpC. waitD. offer

12.A. chanceB. taskC. dutyD. decision

13.A. burialB. partyC. meetingD. wedding

14.A. AndB. ButC. SoD. Or

15.A. kindnessB. memoriesC. careD. hugs

16.A. healthyB. oldC. youngD. alive

17.A. wentB. flewC. rolledD. came

18.A. benefitB. matterC. workD. mean

19.A. publiclyB. properlyC. consciouslyD. correctly

20.A. fall inB. search forC. hand overD. give back

根据短文内容,从下边的A—F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。

Tips on How to Think Positive

1.________

Your thoughts that consist of mental images and self talk are on automatic mode (状态). When you see, hear, smell or touch something, your mind comes out with its mental representation. You will then find yourself feeling something. To develop positive thinking, become aware of your feelings by checking them from time to time. Ask yourself what you were thinking and what caused the thought. Take note of what you were saying to yourself.

2.________

How often do you say things such as “It happens every time” when something doesn’t turn out right? What do you say to yourself when you have made a mistake? Do you say things like, “Stupid of me. Here I go again?” Another tip on how to think positive is to catch yourself saying all these negative things. Demand your inner self to stop. You can say something such as, “Stop it. I am much better than that. The next time I will …”

3.________

Your beliefs shape your thoughts. If you believe you can’t do something or if you have conditioned your mind to see unpleasantness in people or situations, you will see and experience them in your life. You can change your limiting and negative beliefs by challenging and questioning them. You can also do so by re-framing things or changing your view.

4.________

Your thoughts determine what you focus on. You can force yourself to see and focus on the positive side of things, people and yourself. Develop an attitude of seeing things in a new or different perspective. Instead of thinking and seeing what doesn’t work, look at what works. Rather than seeing something as a problem or difficulty, consider it as an opportunity. Once you see things differently, you will think in a different manner.

5.________

Get out in the open and get physically active. Make it a habit to exercise daily. Exercise affects your attitude about life. It is one of the ways to prevent or reduce stress and anxiety and maintain mental health. Practice healthy eating so that you can maintain your weight, prevent sickness and reduce the risk of major health problems. Read and listen to motivational and self-help books or recordings. Spending too much time sitting at home watching television and filling your mind with bad news and reality shows won’t help expand your thinking.

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”

One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.

She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.

Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience. In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.

She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.

Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.

However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.

1.The passage is written with the purpose of ________.

A. illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child

B. analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular

C. presenting us with different opinions about having an only child

D. guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Nearly half of families intend to have just one child.

B. All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child.

C. Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child.

D. People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family.

3.From what Dr. Dorothy Rowe said, we know that ________.

A. journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood

B. she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction

C. it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle

D. some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children.

B. Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child.

C. Economic development plays a determining role in the family size.

D. Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents.

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