A funny thing happened on the way to the communications revolutions: we stopped talking to one another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently,and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and…I became invisible, absent from the conversation.   
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communications technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another, With voice mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated, the alienation index goes up. You can't even call a person to get the phone number of another person my more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.
I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card a voice mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn't wise…they're a great help to use. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.  
More and more .I find myself hiding behind e-mail to do a job meant for conversation. Or being relieved that voice mail picked up because I didn't really have time to talk, The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier…or at least facilitating my antisocial instincts.
So I've put myself on technology restriction: no instant messaging. with people who live near me,no cell phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail pick up when I'm at home.
【小题1】Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?   

A.The Advance of Communications Technology
B.The Consequences of Modern Technology
C.The Story of Communications Revolution
D.The Automation of Modern Communications
【小题2】The sentence “Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent,”means that       .
A.the people sitting beside you have to go away to receive a phone call
B.you can hardly get in touch with the people sitting beside you
C.modem technology makes it hard for people to have a face-to-face talk
D.people can now go to work without going to the office
【小题3】The writer feels that the use of modern communications is        
A.encouragingB.disappointingC.satisfyingD.embarrassing
【小题4】The passage implies that        .
A.modern technology is bridging the people.
B.modern technology is separating the people
C.modern technology is developing too fast
D.modern technology is interrupting our communications

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his Hunches (串) of bananas and bags of peanuts.Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life.“Banana 300 naira.Peanuts 200 naira.” He said in a low voice.I bargained him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts.When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill.He didn’t have change, so I told him not to worry.He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.

When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it’s not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun.My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us. I pulled over and rolled down my window.He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready.I waved them away.“What’s up?” I asked him.“I … I don’t have money to buy books for school.” I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills.

“Will this help?” I asked.He looked around nervously before taking the money.One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year.

“Thank you, sir,” he said.“Thank you very much!”

When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks.

What  if he’s a swindler (骗子)? And then I wondered why I did it.Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn’t know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.

Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out for a drive.When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face. “Oh, gosh! Long time.”  “Are you in school now?” I asked. He nodded. “That’s good,” I said.A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted.“Here,” I held out a 500 naira bill.“Take this.” He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt.“What’s wrong?” I asked.“It’s a gift.” He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back.His face shone with sweat.He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, “I’ve been waiting to give these to you.”

1.What was the author’s first impression of the boy?

A.He seemed to be poor and greedy.        B.He seemed to have suffered a lot.

C.He seemed younger than his age            D.He seemed good at bargaining.

2.The second time the author met the boy, the boy _____.

A.told him his purpose of selling fruit and nuts

B.wanted to express his thanks

C.asked him for money for his schoolbooks

D.tried to take advantage of him

3.Why did the author give his money to the boy?

A.Because he had enough money to do that.

B.Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.

C.Because he held a higher position in the society.

D.Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.

4.Which of the following best describes the boy?

A.Brave and polite.                      B.Kind and smart.

C.Honest and thankful.                    D.Shy and nervous.

 

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