“Life is speeding up．Everyone is getting unwell．”

　　This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact， an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it．

We all love new inventions．They are exciting， amazing， and can change our lives．

But have all these developments really improved 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 simple 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 Thomas，7，spent nine weeks in a 1940s' house．They had no washing machine， microwave， computer or mobile phone．

　　The grandmother， Lyn， said， “It was hard physically．But not mentally （精神上）．”She believed life was less materialistic（物质的）．“The more things you have，the more difficult life becomes， ”she said．The boys said they fought less．Probably， they said， because there was less to fight over， such as their computer．Also Lyn 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-mails every day．

　　●Make sure you spend some time talking to your family．Set aside one evening a week when you don't turn on the television．Play cards and chat instead．

　　●Get a low-tech hobby．Everyday， do something in the old-fashion way， such as walking to have a face-to-face meeting instead of using the e-mail or telephone．

　　●Don't worry too much about life—laugh more！

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 uses the quote（引语） at the beginning of the story to________．

A．share a truth about life

B．tell us what life was like a 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．Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940s' house?

A．Because they loved to live simple lives．

B．Because they were curious about how people lived without modem' inventions．

C．Because they were troubled by modern inventions．

D．Because living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them．

4．What do you think the underlined word“ available” in the last suggestion offered by the writer means?

A．Busy on time．

B．Free．

C．Be able to．

D．To be found by others．

I used to be a mortgage broker(贷款中间人) in the Phoenix area. In April 2007, the company that I had been with for a year went out of business. That was the latest of the four companies that I had worked for since 2000 .They all either went under or let most of the employees go, including me.
In December 2007, the bank took back my house, and I had no choice but to move in with my parents, five miles away. My sister has three children, and she had no room. My fiancée(未婚妻), Brandi Wetch, and I have been living in my parents’ house for about a year and a half now.
My mother, Sue, works part-time at a high school library. My father left for a job in the Marshall Islands a few months ago and will be gone for two years.
I’m trying to be patient with finding a new job, but it’s been hard. I check the Internet for jobs every morning. I have sent countless letters but have never got a job. I have no idea how many other people are applying for the same job.
I do the housework and washing, and I take care of the garden. Sometimes, I feel like the best part of my life is over. The worst part of the day is when I chat with my friends on the Internet. I’ve talked to about 10 old friends online. The first thing they usually ask is what I’m doing now.
My mother, who is in her 60s, has been so patient and supportive. She acts like she’s happy to have us, not like we’re crowding her. We have learned what’s important since I lived here.
【小题1】 We can infer that the writer is living a _________ life.