This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it．
We all love new inventions．They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives．
But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?
Picture this：You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer．Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder．Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work．Now you have to stay up all night to get it done．How calm and happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired．Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier?Perhaps because they lead simpler lives．
One family in the UK went“back in time”to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today．The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house．They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones．
The grandmother, Lyn, said,“It was hard physically, but not mentally．”She believed life was less materialistic．“The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,”She said．The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer．Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a“fashionable, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things．”
Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!
Don’t be available all the time．Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day．Don’t check your e-mail every day．
Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can．It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying．
(1)
The passage is mainly about ________．
[ ]
A．
problems with technology
B．
improvements of our life with technology
C．
the important roles technology plays in our everyday life
D．
major changes which will be likely to happen to technology
(2)
The writer quoted what a citizen in ancient Rome said at the beginning of the story in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
share a truth about life
B．
tell us what life was like long time ago
C．
make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen
D．
point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same
(3)
The family chose to spend some time in a 1940’s house because ________．
[ ]
A．
they liked to live simple lives
B．
they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions
C．
they were troubled by modern inventions
D．
living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them
(4)
What does the word“available”in the suggestion offered by the writer mean?
While everyone knows that NBA center Yao Ming will become a father this summer, the big buzz(流言)in China is about whether the baby will be an American．
The Shanghai native's personal life is closely followed by his many fans at home, from his 2007 Shanghai wedding to fellow basketball player Ye Li to last month's reports the couple is expecting a baby girl in July．
The 2.25-meter star, sidelined this season with a broken left foot, recently returned to the USA with Ye, encouraging speculation that the baby will be born there．
Yao's baby would automatically be an American citizen if born in the US．
However, Chinese law does not recognize double citizenship．
A few say it would be a betrayal of China and that the Chinese team could be denied a future basketball star．
But most support Yao and don't care which country claims the baby．
“Yao Ming is individual, not a political tool,”said one comment on popular basketball Website Hoop China．
“He has the right to choose where his child is born and what kind of medical care and education will be available to her．His child's citizenship has nothing to do with loyalty．”
Yao and his camp have been tight-lipped on the pregnancy(怀孕)and have not issued any public statements on the matter．
It is not clear if Yao and his wife are indeed planning to have the baby in the US or how they will handle any citizenship issues．
Yao's spokesman Zhang Mingji refused to make notes on the baby, saying it was a private matter．
Many Chinese famous persons-including actress Gong Li and director Chen Kaige-have in recent years been criticized for becoming naturalized citizens of other countries．
Chinese are subject to strict visa requirements and some of the famous persons argued it was easier to travel internationally with passports from countries like Singapore or the US．
(1)
What makes the Chinese puzzled and interested in is ________．
[ ]
A．
when Yao will have a baby
B．
when Yaao will recover from his injury
C．
what nationality Baby Yao will have
D．
who looks after Yao since he is injured
(2)
The underlined word“betrayal”in paragraph 6 can be replaced by ________．
[ ]
A．
love
B．
distance
C．
hate
D．
disloyalty
(3)
For most fans of Yao they ________．
[ ]
A．
are against his choice of claiming his baby for America
B．
think it's Yao's freedom to choose his baby's nationality
C．
are for Yao's decision of becoming an American at once
D．
are not interested in his decision
(4)
From the passage we know Yao ________．
[ ]
A．
has decided to give birth to the baby in America
B．
has recovered and will return to the sports in a week
C．
has decided to spend more time in film
D．
hasn't expressed his clear idea to the public at all
(5)
Some famous people are being scolded(责骂)because they ________．
[ ]
A．
care little about the environmental problems now
B．
have become other foreign country's citizen
C．
refuse to donate to the poor in China
D．
decide to only make money in foreign countries
阅读理解
BEIJING－After a night of wining and dining with 50 of China's richest people, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates told the journalists on Thursday that the biggest difference between eating with Chinese tycoons(企业界大亨)and Western ones was the food．
“I was amazed last night, really, at how similar the questions and discussions and all that were to those in the dinners we had in the U．S．,” said Mr．Buffett．
Mr．Buffett and Mr．Gates, two of the best known Westerners here, announced in September, 2010 that they planned to invite 50 wealthy Chinese tycoons to dinner in Beijing to encourage philanthropy(慈善事业)among China's new rich．
On Thursday, the two men pronounced the dinner a great success, saying that two-thirds of those invited had shown up, and that more than half of them had offered their own ideas on how Chinese philanthropy should work．
The guest list wasn't made public, but the Chinese news media reported that it included Jet Li, the movie star; Niu Gensheng, the founder of a Chinese dairy business; and Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, who control the SOHO China real estate(房地产)empire．
As with four earlier dinners held in the United States, Mr．Buffett and Mr．Gates said, no one at the Beijing event was asked to donate money or to promise to engage in charity．“Bill and I won't be calling anybody．What happens in China will depend on what the Chinese people feel about a project of this sort,” said Mr．Buffett．
China is widely reported to be second only to the United States in the number of dollar billionaires．Mr．Gates and Mr．Buffett said the nation was unique because its wealthy class had arisen almost wholly in the past 30 years, so the philanthropic practices established among European and American dynasties are new here, and open to change．
The two said the dinner wasn't a long planned matter, but an offshoot of a trip that Mr．Buffett had already scheduled to Guangdong and Hunan Provinces, where BYD Company, a maker of clean-energy automobiles, has factories．Mr．Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, holds a 10％stake(股金)in the company．
But Mr．Gates suggested that their philanthropic trip wasn't yet over．“We may do an event in India,” he said．
(1)
What is the text mainly about?
[ ]
A．
A brief analysis of future philanthropy．
B．
The development of Chinese philanthropy．
C．
An introduction on Mr．Buffett and Mr．Gates' trip in China．
D．
A charity dinner held in Beijing by Mr．Buffett and Mr．Gates．
(2)
According to the first two paragraphs, Mr Buffett really wanted to say that ________．
[ ]
A．
the dinner was quite a success
B．
the food in the dinner was very delicious
C．
Chinese tycoons are similar to Western ones
D．
it was pleasing to discuss with Chinese tycoons
(3)
We can learn from the text that ________．
[ ]
A．
China has the largest number of dollar billionaires in Asia
B．
many people have promised to donate money at dinner
C．
Beijing will be the last stop of their philanthropic trip
D．
the Chinese news media published the complete guest list of the dinner
(4)
The underlined words “an offshoot” in Paragraph 8 can probably be replaced by “________”．
[ ]
A．
a report
B．
an addition
C．
a beginning
D．
an end
阅读理解
AAAGH! The Generation 90s is coming!
Wearing earphones, using complex Net language and constantly text messaging friends, the Gen-90s following the Gen-80s begin to make their world debut(初次登台)．
Each generation or age group has its own symbols and lifestyle．Read on and judge for yourselves if you fit the Gen-90s profile(简介)．
Earphones
These little devices seem to grow on the heads of the Gen-90s．They might lead to MP3, MP4 or MP101 players, giving these young people a plugged-in，cool and perhaps self-addicted look, of course, life is not always music to the ears．
Martian language
They have created their own code-like online language．It’s a mixture of English, Japanese and Chinese that perhaps only Martians can understand．This is an imaginative generation, though they need to be careful to keep it out of their term papers．
Self-Portrait
Saying “cheese” to their own digital cameras is routine for this generation．A little bit of narcissism(自恋)never hurts anyone．It helps them reflect a little on their own lives．But be aware of the risks of posting private photos online．
Text-messaging
They can type their mobile phones as fast as they can speak．This is a generation that respects efficiency．However, oral communication is important and will never go out of style．
(1)
Who are the intended readers of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Teenagers
B．
Educators
C．
Socialists
D．
Parents
(2)
According to the passage, if you belong to the Gen-90s, you will ________．
[ ]
A．
just appreciate yourself and ignore others’ strengths．
B．
make your presentation and have your own symbols and lifestyle．
C．
have the same symbols and lifestyle of the Gen-80s．
D．
like music and dance very much．
(3)
According to the text, the writer will choose ________ as a good example to the Gen-90．
[ ]
A．
Li Hua likes music and always wearing ipod
B．
Zhang Chao is not only an imaginative boy but do everything efficiently．
C．
Lily is a shy girl and she doesn’t like making friends．
D．
Fangfang likes being taken photos of and often posting them on line．
(4)
According to this passage, which is FALSE?
[ ]
A．
Not all teens are cautious about posting photos．
B．
They type their mobile phones so fast that it can catch the speed of speaking．
C．
The Gen-90s have a preference for some music players, and even regard them as a necessary part of life．
D．
They don’t use the cool and complex online language in formal writing．
(5)
The main idea of the passage is about ________．
[ ]
A．
the Gen-90s’ happy life
B．
the difference between the Gen-80s and the Gen-90s
C．
the Gen-90s’unique lifestyle and some practical warnings
D．
the similarities between the Gen-80s and the Gen-90s
