The Internet will open up new vistas (前景), create the global village——you can make new friends all around the world. That, at least, is what it promised us. The difficulty is that it did not take the human mind into account. The reality is that we cannot keep relationships with more than a limited number of people. No matter how hard the Internet tries to put you in communication, its best efforts will be defeated by your mind.

The problem is twofold（双重的）. First, there is a limit on the number of people we can hold in mind and have a meaningful relationship with. That number is about 150 and is set by the size of our brain. Second, the quality of your relationships depends on the amount of time you invest in then. We invest a lot in a small number of people and then distribute what’s left among as many others as we can. The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement with that person will decline until eventually it dies into “someone I once knew”.

This is not, of course, to say that the Internet doesn’t serve a socially valuable function. Of course it does. But the question is not that it allows you to increase the size of your social circle to include the rest of the world, but that you can keep your relationships with your existing friends going even though you have to move to the other side of the world.

In one sense, that’s a good thing. But it also has a disadvantage. If you continue to invest in your old friends even though you can no longer see them, then certainly you aren’t using your time to make new friends where you now live. And I suspect that probably isn’t the best use of your time. Meaningful relationships are about being able to communicate with each other, face to face. The Internet will slow down the rate with which relationships end, but it won’t stop that happening eventually.

1.The number of friends we can keep relationships with is decided by__________.

A. the Internet   B. the time we have  C. the place we live  D. the mind

2.The underlined word “engagement” in the second paragraph probably means “__________”.

　A. appointment   B. connection   C. interview    D. agreement

3.The author holds the view that___________.

  A. the Internet helps to keep in touch with friends far away

B. the Internet determines the quality of social relationships

C. the Internet greatly increases the size of social circles

D. the Internet is of no value in social communication

4.What will the author encourage us to do?

　A. To keep in touch with old friends when we have moved away.

　B. To chat with friends often on the Internet.

　C. To make more new friends face to face.

　D. To stop using the Internet to make new friends.

5.What is the author’s attitude towards the use of the Internet to strengthen relationships?

　A. He thinks it useless           B. He is hopeful of it.

　C. He approves of it.            D. He doubts it.

Ah，it was the place_______we once dug the reservoir.

A.which                       B.where                       C.that                           D./

You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better—or for the worse?

If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.

So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.

Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的). The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.

Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.

Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.

To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers.

But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got. 

1.After a short overseas holiday, people tend to _______.

A. notice small changes

B. expect small changes

C. welcome small changes

D. exaggerate small changes

2.How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?

A. Cautiously.

B. Positively.

C. Sceptically.

D. Critically.

3.When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by _______.

A. the relaxed policemen

B. the messy arrivals hall

C. the tight security

D. the bank robbers

4.Which might be the best title for the passage?

A. Life in Britain.

B. Back in Britain.

C. Britain in Future.

D. Britain in Memory.

The Internet has changed the world we live in dramatically, so that in some ways it is unrecognizable from the place we lived in twenty years ago. Communications have been revolutionized. Not only have cell phones found their way into most people’s pockets or purses, but they are also used for next messaging and as cameras. Long distance phone calls have been replaced by e-mail and video conferencing. Communications, person to person or company to company, have turned into a fast-paced exchange with instant response. In fact, it has become more convenient and efficient.
The other kind of communication the Internet provides is information. School children and medical researchers alike will tell you that they could not work without the Internet and its ability to connect them to any number of websites and databases of information. Many people do their banking on-line. Others plan a trip and book a flight for themselves. People do their own stock  trading through the Net. Sports fans follow scores and statistics on websites. Political junkies(政治狂) gather campaign statements and debate topics, even between elections. And almost everyone who owns a computer and has Internet access has bought at least one item on-line. No wonder some young people can not imagine what life was like before the Internet.
Some Advantages of the Internet
I.  【小题1】    of the Internet communication
●A fast-paced exchange replacing long distance phone calls with    【小题2】   like e-mail and vedio conferencing
II. Accessibitlity to the Internet information
●On-line    【小题3】   service
Convenience to do banking at home or office
●  【小题4】   service
Choices of booking traffic and accommodation
●Sports websites
Information about scores and statistics
●Political websites
Campaign statements and   【小题5】   

You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better—or for the worse?
If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.
Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的). The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.
Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.
Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers.
But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got. 
【小题1】After a short overseas holiday, people tend to _______.