Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact(互动)these days.The term is “networked individualism”.This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings.How can we be individuals(个体)and be networked at the same time?You need other people for networks.
Here is what Professor Wellman means.Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail,our social networks included live interactions with relatives,neighbors,and friends.Some of the interaction was by phone,but it was still voice to voice,person to person,in real time.
A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people,electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to-person interaction.However,a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing.Why?
In the past,many people were worried that the Internet isolated(孤立)us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer.But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true.The Internet connects us with more real people than expected—helpful people who can give advice on careers,medical problems,raising children,and choosing a school or college.About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.
Thanks to the computer,we are able to be alone and together with other people—at the same time!
【小题1】The underlined phrase “networked individualism”probably means that by using computers people_______.

Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清风),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(门廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(猫头鹰)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.
【小题1】On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.

It will be hot—hot enough that most locals will have cleared town for cooler places. But because athletes competing at the 2004 Olympics have no choice but to stay in the hot weather, many plan to turn to science to stay cool.?

Some will put their hands in ice water just before competing and nearly all will be wearing fabrics(织物) designed with hot weather in mind.?

“Normally we warm up before exercise,”said Gordon Sleivert, director of sports science and medicine at the Canadian Sport Center in Victoria, British Columbia.“But in this case we're taking the warm out of warm up. It's like pre-cooling.”

Experts are predicting(预测) the average high this August in Athens will be 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with temperatures often reaching above 100(the average temperature in Sydney for the 2000 summer games was 64).?

Although some events, such as the marathon, will start early(1 a.m.) to avoid hot weather, other competitors will be pushing their limits during high temperatures.?       Drinking lots of water will help athletes keep cool, but humidity(湿度) remains a problem. The body's ability to cool down is weakened by damp air since sweat drips off the skin rather than evaporates(蒸发),resulting in dehydration(脱水) without the cooling.?

“Getting hot is a real problem because when our brains heats up, the brain waves are more like when you're really sleepy. Everything feels harder,” said Sleivert.

The passage mainly tells us that _______.

A. why it is very hot in Athens?

B. the hot weather is a big problem for Olympic athletes?

C. how important science is to every athlete?

D. the Olympics will be put off because of the hot weather?

The underlined sentence “other competitors will be pushing their limits during high temperatures”in the fifth paragraph means _______.?

A. Olympic athletes will put off their competition time?

B. some events in the Olympics will have to be put forward?

C. competitors can't reach their limits in the hot weather?

D. competitors will have to try their best to compete under any condition?

The following things will be likely to happen in the hot weather EXCEPT _______.

A. dehydration?

B. being sleepy?

C. that the blood in the body can become less and less?

D. that the body's ability to cool down is weakened

Dinner was almost ready when the killing happened．When Don Wise walked into the living room of his home，his ten-year-old son，Mike，and a 12-year-old friend were sitting in front of a large-screen television set．They were playing a video game they had rented(租赁), called Golden eye 007，one of the top-selling titles of 2007．
Standing behind the boys，Wise saw that one boy pushed the button and shot the character in the face．Blood splattered(喷溅)the lab coat of the character as he circled and fell．“You’re down!”the boy said，laughing．
Frightened by the child’s obvious fun，Wise ordered the boys to turn the game off．“This game is terrible．“he said seriously．“I don’t want you to play with this any more．”
Video games have become pervasive form of entertainment since the 1990s．Today about 69 percent of American families own or rent video and computer games．Most are harmless entertainment，but in far too many of the most popular ones，kids are acting out realistic violent experiences on their TV and computer screens．“These are not just games any more，”says Rick Dyer，president of the San Diego-based Virtual Image Productions.“These are learning machines．We’re teaching kids in the most incredible way what it’s like to pull the trigger(扳机)．The focus is on the thrill，enjoyment and reward．What they’re not realizing are the real-life results.“
Such video games introduce kids to a fantasy world that features amazingly lifelike characters，detailed images of brutality(野蛮)。 Unlike movies and television，where you watch the violence，the video game lets you feel the sensation（感觉） of taking violent actions． When you’re into the game，you’re in the game． 
“The technology is becoming more engaging（吸引人的） for kids，”says David Walsh，president of the National Institute on Media and the Family(NIMF)，a watchdog group in Minneapolis，“and a part of the games features anti-social themes of violence，sex and rude language．Unfortunately，it’s a part that seems particularly popular with kids between ages 8 to15．”
57．Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this passage?
A．Video game violence is very harmful to kids．
B．Video game is a common form of entertainment．
C．Video game violence is popular with children．
D  Video game is the reflection of the real—life violence．
58．We can infer from the passage that the_____________．
A．NIMF is characteristic for its social justice
B．NIMF is a political organization in Minneapolis
C．NIMF promotes(推崇) video games and other media products
D．NIMF detects（侦查） the media industry’s illegal actions（违法行为）
59．The underlined word“pervasive”in Paragraph 4 most probably means____________．
A．worldwide        B．instructive       C．widespread      n harmful
60．Which of the following statements would Rick Dyer agree with?
A  Video games with some violence teach kids to experience real life．
B．Video games are realistic ways to learn more about the real life  world．
C．Video games with fantastic features are loved by most kids in the US．
D  Violence video games have a negative influence on children．

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland （虚幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （坚毅） it takes to stay the course （持续到底） in the shadowland．
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?