A
17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to
the vice principal's office.The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus
on the teach- er, not his cellphone.The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr.Gallagher noticed the student's
fingers moving on his lap.He was texting while being scolded for texting."It was a subconscious
act," says Mr.Gallagher, who took the phone away."Young people today are con-nected socially
from the moment they open their eyes in the moming until they close their eyes
at night.It's compulsive."
A
study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain,
Ga., found that the
more time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have
lower grades and weaker study habits.Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more sociable, but they are
alsomore likely to be anxious, hostile or depressed.
Almost a
quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to
a2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors media's
impact on families.Will
these young people get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or
will employers cometo see texting and 'social-network checking' as accepted
parts of the workday? Think bac.k.Whentoday's
older workers were in their 20s, they might have taken a break on the job to
call friends andmake after-work plans.In those earlier eras, companies discouraged non-business-related
calls, and someone who made personal calls all day risked being fired.It was impossible to imagine
the con-stant back-and-forth texting that defines interactions among young
people today.Educators
are alsobeing asked by parents, students and educational strategists to
reconsider their rules."In past gen-erations, students got in trouble for passing
notes in class.Now
students are good at texting withtheir phones stiU in their pockets," says
40-year-old Mr.Gallagher,
the vice principal, ”and they're able to communicate with someone one
floor down and three rows over.Students are just fun-amentally different today.They will take suspensions
rather than give up their phones."
1.The underlined
word“a subconscious act" in the first paragraph refers to an act
A.on
purpose
B.without realization
C.in
secret
D.with care
2.Young people
addicted to the use of Facebook
.
A.are good at dealing with the social relationships
and concentrate on their study
B.have high spirits and positive attitudes towards
their life and work
C.have been influenced mentally in the aspects of
behaviors and habits
D.are always in bad mood and have poor performance
in every respect
3.Through the
situation of today's older workers in their 20s, it can be inferred that .
A.the employers will not accept young people's
sending text messages
B.a cellphone is a must for today's older workers
instead of young people
C.the employers prefer older workers to young people
D.the employers will find it hard to control the
interaction among young people
4.Mr.Gallagher reminds us that the
students in the past and .those today .
A.like to break rules and have the same means of
sending messages
B.are alwa)-s the big problem for the educators and their parents
C.like sending text messages but those today do it
in a more secret and skillful way
D.cannot live without a ceUphone
5.What's the best
title of the passage?
A.Teenagers and CeLl.Phones
B.Teenagers' Texting Addiction
C.Employers and Teenagers
D.Teenagers' Education