Michael, a normal American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn't talk to any other human beings, and he doesn't see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from communicating with our fellow human beings.

     The world of business is one area in which technology is separating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their job at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they're dealing with. Also, the way employees are paid will change. Workers' salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.

     Another area in which technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.

The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means _______.

A. Michael is a person full of imagination and his dreams can come true

B. Michael is not a real person but the life style does exist

C. Michael has ambitions but he can't make his dreams come true

D. Michael is full of imagination and his life style is common nowadays

What does the author discuss in the last paragraph ?

A. Technology is changing ways of entertainment.

B. People will never go to the concert in future.

C. How to borrow videotapes at home.

D. How to see a movie at home.

What is the main idea of the passage?

A. We may no longer need to communicate with other people.

B. Modern technology seems to be separating people.

C. We may no longer need to work in the office.

D. Modern technology makes it possible for us to work at home.

Michael, a normal American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn’t talk to any other human beings, and he doesn’t see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from communicating with our fellow human beings.
The world of business is one area in which technology is separating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their job at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with. Also, the way employees are paid will change. Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.
Another area in which technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means _______.

Michael, a normal American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn't talk to any other human beings, and he doesn't see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from communicating with our fellow human beings.

The world of business is one area in which technology is separating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their job at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they're dealing with. Also, the way employees are paid will change. Workers' salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.

Another area in which technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.

1.The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means _______.

2.What does the author discuss in the last paragraph ?

3. What is the main idea of the passage?

It was a village in India.The people were poor.However，they were not unhappy.After all，their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.

Then one day，some visitors from the city arrived.They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs.However，they did not have enough frogs of their own，and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.

This seemed like money for nothing.There were millions of frogs in the fields around，and they were no use to the villagers.All they had to do was catch them.Agreement was reached，and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs.Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money.For the first time，the people were able to dream of a better future.But the dream didn’t last long.

The change was hardly noticed at first，but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well.More worrying was that the children fell ill more often，and，there seemed to be more insects around lately.

The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak.They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines.Soon there was no money left.

Then the people realized what was happening.It was the frog.They hadn’t been useless.They had been doing an important job—eating insects.Now with so many frogs killed，the insects were increasing more rapidly.They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.

Now，the people are still poor.But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs.These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.

(2010·辽宁，A)

1.From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers ________.

A．worked very hard for centuries

B．dreamed of having a better life

C．were poor but somewhat content

D．lived a different life from their forefathers

2.Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?

A．The frogs were easy money.

B．They needed money to buy medicine.

C．They wanted to please the visitors.

D．The frogs made too much noise.

3.What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?

A．The crops didn’t do well.

B．There were too many insects.

C．The visitors brought in diseases.

D．The pesticides were overused.

4.What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?

A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.

B．Health is more important than money.

C．The harmony between man and nature is important.

D．Good old days will never be forgotten.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) ---- Forget about talking your children into considering life as a doctor or a teacher and start training them for the talent show.

A survey of British parents showed the aspirations (志向) of their children are greatly different from what they dreamed about when considering who they wanted to be when they grew up.

Although astronaut (宇航员) still remains fairly high on the list of careers (事业) kids dream about these days, others like doctor and teacher have been taken the place of by the desire (欲望) to win good name and money as a sporting hero, pop star or actor.

 The parents of children aged 5 to 11 said the choice of lawyer had dropped by only one place on a top 10 list to sixth, while teacher had dropped to ninth from top in the last 25 or more years.

 The survey for British TV channel “Watch” found a great difference between the genders (性别) of today’s young people when compared with their parents’ dreams 25 years or more ago.

 Playing professional football, being an astronaut and joining the firefighting service topped the boys’ choices, while girls are more likely to be dreaming of taking to the stage as a pop star or actress or joining the medical profession.

When asked what they would like their children to do for a living, today’s parents still like the academic (学术的) professions (职业), with law and medicine scoring highly, while being a boss came third.

Parents also praised job happiness above wealth (财富) when it comes to their hopes for their children.

Nearly 70 percent of the parents surveyed thought that they failed to follow their dreams when it came to their career, with 37 percent thinking it was caused by a lack of aspiration and not having the necessary conditions.

1.  From the passage we know that most parents still hope that in the future their children can take up ______.

   A. jobs such as musicians, singers and dancers

   B. jobs related to academic professions like lawyers and doctors

   C. jobs in which they will not be endangered

   D. jobs which will be well paid only

2.  The first paragraph is to advise parents to ______.

   A. change their children’s dreams     B. correct their children’s dreams

   C. follow their children’s dreams          D. forget their children’s dreams

3.  According to the survey for British TV channel “Watch”, which of the following is the boys’ best career choice?

   A. A pop star       B. An actor        C. A doctor         D. A firefighter 

4.  What can be learnt from the passage?

   A. Parents’ hope for their children’s career did not change too much.

   B. Parents pay much attention to the income of their children.

   C. Less than half of the parents who were surveyed didn’t follow their dreams.

   D. Most parents didn’t have the necessary conditions to realize their dreams.

5.  What is the main idea of the passage?

   A. Many reasons cause the change of children’s dreams.

   B. Parents’ dreams are different from children’s.

   C. Parents are changing their own dreams.

   D. Children’s dreams are always changing.