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This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived
in Rome in 52 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting , amazing and can even 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 empty 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 (加速) our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed (压力)
and tired. Why
do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they simpler lives.
On e 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 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
found less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed
from being a trendy, 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 son as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at
first, but it soon gets boring.
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
in order to _______.
B. tell us what life was like long time ag
oC. 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
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
B. Free
C. Able to be used
D. Able to be found by others
A 26-year-old Montreal man appears to have succeeded in his quest to barter a single， red paper clip(夹子) all the way up to a house. It took almost a year and 14 trades， but Kyle MacDonald has been offered a two-storey farmhouse in Kipling， Sask.， for a paid role in a movie.
MacDonald began his quest last summer when he decided he wanted to live in a house. He didn’t have a job， so instead of posting a resumé， he looked at a red paper clip on his desk and decided to trade it on an Internet website. The response was immediate —a fish pen was offered for exchange. MacDonald then bartered the fish pen for a handmade doorknob from a potter in Seattle.
In Massachusetts， MacDonald traded the doorknob for a camp stove. He traded the stove to a U.S. soldier in California for a generator. Then he exchanged the generator for an “instant party kit” — an empty keg(小桶) and an illuminated Budweiser beer sign. MacDonald then traded the keg and sign for a snowmobile. He bartered all the way up to an afternoon with rock star Alice Cooper， a KISS snow globe and finally a paid role in a Corbin Bernsen movie.
“Now， I’m sure the first question on your mind is， ‘Why would Corbin Bernsen trade a role in a film for a snow globe？ A KISS snow globe，’ MacDonald said on his website.”Well， Corbin happens to be arguably one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet.
Now， the town of Kipling， Sask.， Canada， with a population of 1,100， has offered MacDonald a farmhouse in exchange for the role in the movie. The town is going to hold a competition for the movie role.
MacDonald said： “There’re people all over the world that are saying that they have paper clips clipped to the top of their computer， or on their desk or on their shirt， and it proves that anything is possible and I think to a certain degree it’s true.”
MacDonald， who has attracted international media attention in his quest， said the journey has turned out to be more exciting than the goal. “This is not the end. This may be the end of this part of the story， but this story will go on.”
The best title for this passage is “ ”.
A.A lucky paper clip B. From poor to rich
C.A lucky young man D. From paper clip to house
The underlined word in line 1 means .
A. to get something for free B. to sell something at a price
C. to sell goods on the Internet D. to exchange goods for other goods
Which shows the correct order of the trades？
A. Paper clip?snow globe?snowmobile?house
B. Paper clip?keg of beer?doorknob?snowmobile
C. Paper clip?camp stove?snowmobile?movie role
D. Paper clip?keg of beer?camp stove?snowmobile
Which statement about MacDonald’s trades is TRUE？
A. All of his trades were done in his country.
B.A film role was offered due to Bernsen’s hobby.
C. They took over a year and some of them were really unbelievable.
D. The house in Kipling has been offered to MacDonald to attract media.
What can we learn about MacDonald？
A. He wanted to gain fame through his quest.
B .His success largely depended on the Internet.
C. He never expected his aim could be achieved.
D. He intends to begin another quest on the Web.
查看习题详情和答案>>A 26-year-old Montreal man appears to have succeeded in his quest to barter a single， red paper clip(夹子) all the way up to a house. It took almost a year and 14 trades， but Kyle MacDonald has been offered a two-storey farmhouse in Kipling， Sask.， for a paid role in a movie.
MacDonald began his quest last summer when he decided he wanted to live in a house. He didn’t have a job， so instead of posting a resumé， he looked at a red paper clip on his desk and decided to trade it on an Internet website. The response was immediate —a fish pen was offered for exchange. MacDonald then bartered the fish pen for a handmade doorknob from a potter in Seattle.
In Massachusetts， MacDonald traded the doorknob for a camp stove. He traded the stove to a U.S. soldier in California for a generator. Then he exchanged the generator for an “instant party kit” — an empty keg(小桶) and an illuminated Budweiser beer sign. MacDonald then traded the keg and sign for a snowmobile. He bartered all the way up to an afternoon with rock star Alice Cooper， a KISS snow globe and finally a paid role in a Corbin Bernsen movie.
“Now， I’m sure the first question on your mind is， ‘Why would Corbin Bernsen trade a role in a film for a snow globe？ A KISS snow globe，’ MacDonald said on his website.”Well， Corbin happens to be arguably one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet.
Now， the town of Kipling， Sask.， Canada， with a population of 1,100， has offered MacDonald a farmhouse in exchange for the role in the movie. The town is going to hold a competition for the movie role.
MacDonald said： “There’re people all over the world that are saying that they have paper clips clipped to the top of their computer， or on their desk or on their shirt， and it proves that anything is possible and I think to a certain degree it’s true.”
MacDonald， who has attracted international media attention in his quest， said the journey has turned out to be more exciting than the goal. “This is not the end. This may be the end of this part of the story， but this story will go on.”
1.The best title for this passage is “ ”.
A.A lucky paper clip B. From poor to rich
C.A lucky young man D. From paper clip to house
2.The underlined word in line 1 means .
A. to get something for free B. to sell something at a price
C. to sell goods on the Internet D. to exchange goods for other goods
3.Which shows the correct order of the trades？
A. Paper clip?snow globe?snowmobile?house
B. Paper clip?keg of beer?doorknob?snowmobile
C. Paper clip?camp stove?snowmobile?movie role
D. Paper clip?keg of beer?camp stove?snowmobile
4.Which statement about MacDonald’s trades is TRUE？
A. All of his trades were done in his country.
B.A film role was offered due to Bernsen’s hobby.
C. They took over a year and some of them were really unbelievable.
D. The house in Kipling has been offered to MacDonald to attract media.
5.What can we learn about MacDonald？
A. He wanted to gain fame through his quest.
B .His success largely depended on the Internet.
C. He never expected his aim could be achieved.
D. He intends to begin another quest on the Web.
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These days , it seems that almost all of us are too serious . My older daughter often says to me . “Daddy , you’ve got that serious look again .” Even those of us who are committed to non-seriousness are probably too serious . People are frustrated” （沮丧的） and uptight （不安的）about virtually everything being five minutes late , seeing someone look at us wrong or say the wrong thing , paying bills waiting in line , overcooking a meal , making an honest mistake—you name it , we all lose perspective over it .
The root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way , from cur expectations . Very simply, we want things to be a certain way but they’re not a certain way. Life is simply as it is. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best : “Our limited perspective , our hopes and fears become our measure of life , and when circumstances （环境） don’t fit our ideas , they become our difficulties .” We spend our lives warning things , people , and events to be just as we want them to be-and when they’re not , we fight and we suffer.
The first step in recovering from over-seriousness is to admit that you have a problem. You have to want to change, to become more easygoing. You have to see that your own uptightness is largely of your own creation—it’s composed of the way you have set up your life and the way you react to it .
The next step is to understand the link between your expectations and your frustration level. Whenever you expect something to be a certain way and it isn’t, you’re upset and you suffer. On the other hand , when you let go of your expectations , when you accept life as it is , you’re free .
A good exercise is to try to approach a single day without expectations. Don’t expect people to be friendly. When they’re not, you won’t be surprise or bothered; if they are , you’ll be delighted . Don’t expect your day to be problem-free. Instead, as problems come up , say to yourself, “Ah. another hurdle （障碍） to overcome .” As you approach your day in this manner you’ll notice how graceful life can be . Rather than fighting against life, You’ll be dancing with it. Pretty soon, with practice, you’ll lighten up your entire life. And when you lighten up, life is a lot more fun .
1．The underlined word “perspective” （Paragraph 1） probably means .
A．best hope B．proper judgment C．wrong guess D．firm belief
2．According to Benjamin Franklin we should .
A．be uptight about life
B．leave life simply as it is
C．fight and struggle to make the surroundings fit our ideas
D．accept life as being different from our expectations
3．Which of the following belongs to “over-seriousness”?
A．To let go . B．To hold on .
C．To get used to life . D．To try to approach a single day without expectations
4．What might be the best title for the passage ?
A．Lighten Up B．Cheer Up
C．Let Go of Your Expectations D．Never Be Too Serious
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