题目内容
It costs me more but it lasts much longer, you see. That’s the .
A．problem B．sense C．point D．state
C
These days we are all conditioned to accept newness, whatever it costs. Very soon, there is no doubt that Apple's tablet (平板电脑) will seem as a vital tool of modern living to us as sewing machine did to our grandparents. At least, it will until someone produces an even smarter, thinner and more essential tablet, which, if recent history is any guide, will be in approximately six months' time. Turn your back for a moment and you find that every electronic item in your possession is as old as a tombstone. Why should you care if people laugh just because you use an old mobile phone? But try getting the thing repaired when it goes wrong. It's like walking into a pub and asking for an orange juice. You will be made to feel like some sort of time-traveler from the 1970s. "Why not buy a new one?" you will get asked.
And so the mountain of electrical rubbish grows. An average British person was believed to get rid of quite a number of electronic goods in a lifetime. They weighed three tons, stood 7 feet high, and included five fridges, six microwaves, seven PCs, six TVs, 12 kettles, 35 mobile phones and so on. Even then, the calculation seemed to be conservative. Only 35 mobiles in a lifetime? The huge number of electronic items now regularly thrown away by British families is clearly one big problem. But this has other consequences. It contributes greatly to the uneasy feeling that modem technology is going by faster than we can keep up. By the time I've learnt how to use a tool it's already broken or lost. I've lost count of the number of TV remote-controls that I've bought, mislaid and replaced without working out what most of the buttons did.
And the technology changes so unbelievably fast. It was less than years ago that I spotted an energetic businessman friend pulling what seemed to be either a large container or a small nuclear bomb on wheels through a railway station. I asked. "What have you got in there? Your money or your wife?" "Neither," he replied, with the satisfied look of a man who knew he was keeping pace with the latest technology, no matter how ridiculous he looked. "This is what everyone will have soon—even you. It's called a mobile telephone."
I don't feel sorry for the pace of change. On the contrary, I'm amazed by those high-tech designers who can somehow fit a camera, music-player, computer and phone into a plastic box no bigger than a packet of cigarette. If those geniuses could also find a way to keep the underground trains running on the first snowy day of winter, they would be making real progress for human beings. What I do regret, however, is that so many household items fall behind so soon. My parents bought a wooden wireless radio in 1947, the year they were married. In 1973, the year I went to university, it was still working. It sat in the kitchen like an old friend—which, in a way, it was. It certainly spoke to us more than we spoke to each other on some mornings. When my mum replaced it with a new-style radio that could also play cassette-tapes, I felt a real sense of loss.
Such is the over-excited change of 21st-century technology that there's no time to satisfy our emotional needs. Even if Apple's new products turn out to be the most significant tablets I very much doubt if they will resist this trend.
【小题1】When you try getting an old mobile phone repaired, ____.
| A．you are travelling through time | B．you are thought to be out of date |
| C．you will find everything wrong | D．you have got to buy a new one |
| A．lost and upset | B．unbelievably fast |
| C．broken or lost | D．regularly wasteful |
| A．the businessman mastered the latest technology |
| B．mobile phones used to be quite big just years ago |
| C．the businessman was a very ridiculous person |
| D．the writer failed to follow modern technology |
| A．time and events | B．comparison and contrast |
| C．cause and effect | D．examples and analysis |
| A．The fast pace of change brings us no good. |
| B．We have to keep up with new technology. |
| C．Household items should be upgraded quickly. |
| D．We should hold on for new technology to last. |
A tourist comes out of the airport．There are a lot of taxis，but the tourist asks every taxi—driver his name．He takes the third taxi．It costs￡5 from the airport to the hotel．“How much does it cost for the whole day?” the tourist asks．“￡100”，says the taxi-driver．This is very expensive，the tourist accepts the price．
The taxi—driver takes the tourist everywhere．He shows him all monuments and all the museums．In the evening they go back to the hotel．The tourist gives the taxi-driver￡100 and says，“What about tomorrow?” The taxi-driver looks at the tourist．“Tomorrow? It’s another￡ 100 tomorrow．”But the tourist says，“That’s OK．If that’s the price，that is the price．See you tomorrow．”The taxi—driver is very pleased．
The next day the taxi-driver takes the tourist everywhere again．They visit all the museums and all the monuments again．And in the second evening they go back to the hotel．The tourist gives the taxi—driver another￡100 and says，“I’m going home tomorrow．”The taxi-driver is sorry．He likes the tourist and，above all，￡100 a day is good money．“So you are going home．Where do you come from?” he asks．
“I come from New York．”
“New York!” says the taxi-driver，“I have a sister in New York．Her name is Susannah．Do you know her?”
“Of course 1 know her．She gave me￡200 for you．”
1.The tourist is______ ．
|
A．an Englishman |
B．a Frenchman |
C．a Swedish |
D．an American |
2.The tourist asks every taxi—driver his name because______ ．
|
A．he is afraid of being cheated |
B．he wants to remember all of the taxi—drivers’names |
|
C．he knows of one of the taxi-drivers |
D．there is a friend of his among the taxi drivers |
3.Why is the taxi-driver very pleased with the tourist?
|
A．None but the tourist agrees to the price given without arguing with him． |
|
B．His sister knows the tourist． |
|
C．His sister has brought so much money to him． |
|
D．He wants to be the guide of the tourist． |
4.We can conclude that ______ ．
|
A．the tourist will give the taxi-driver another￡200 |
|
B．the tourist makes fun of the taxi—driver |
|
C．the tourist will give the taxi—driver half of the sum |
|
D．the taxi-driver insists that the tourist should pay him another￡200 |