When I was a little girl, my father loved to play the game of “catch the ball” with me. I wasn’t good at it 21  he didn’t mind at all. He was always telling me to 22  my eyes on the ball; otherwise I would not be able to 23  it when he threw it to me.

As I got older, we didn’t play the game as 24  as before. If I had a   25  , I would go to my father and   26   his advice. He would try to make a joke and say, “Keep your eyes on the ball.” We would both laugh   27   that advice was not usually able to   28   the problem, but he would just try to make me   29  .

My father became   30   in 1995 when I was 23. There were not any more conversations, as he was   31   from a terrible disease. He couldn’t   32  ; he could only move his   33   without making a sound, which was sometimes   34   to understand. I seemed to be   35   good at reading his lips after a while, even better than the nurses that were   36   him.

During one of our last   37   I was telling him about a difficulty I was   38  . Once again, I could read his lips. “Keep your eyes on the ball,” he said. We both smiled. That was the last time I saw my father   39   he passed away.

Sometimes now, all those years later when I get into a   40   situation, I just tell myself, “Keep your eyes on the ball.”

Why texting harms your IQ

The regular use of text messages and e-mails can lower the IQ more than twice as much as smoking marijuana (大麻). That is the statement of researchers who have found that tapping away on a mobile phone or computer keypad or checking for electronic messages temporarily knocks up to 10 points off the user’s IQ. This rate of decline in intelligence compares unfavorably with the four-point drop in IQ associated with smoking marijuana, according to British researchers, who have described the phenomenon of improved stupidity as “infomania”. The research conducted by Hewlett Packard, the technology company, has concluded that it is mainly a problem for adult workers, especially men.

It is concluded that too much use of modern technology can damage a person’s mind. It can cause a constant distraction of “always on” technology when employees should be concentrating on what they are paid to do. Infomania means that they lose concentration as their minds remain fixed in an almost permanent state of readiness to react to technology instead of focusing on the task in hand. The report also added that, in a long term, the brain will be considerably shaped by what we do to it and by the experience of daily life. At a microcellular level, the complex networks of nerve cells that make up parts of the brain actually change in response to certain experiences.

Too much use of modern technology can be damaging not only to a person’s mind, but to their social relationship. 1100 adults were interviewed during the research. More than 62 per cent of them admitted that they were addicted to checking their e-mails and text messages so often that they scrutinized work-related ones even when at home or on holiday. Half said that they always responded immediately to an email and will even interrupt a meeting to do so. It is concluded that infomania is increasing stress and anxiety and affecting one’s characteristics. Nine out of ten thought that colleagues who answered e-mails or messages during a face-to-face meeting were extremely rude.

The effects on IQ were studied by Dr Glenn Wilson, a psychologist at University of London. “This is a very real and widespread phenomenon,” he said. “We have found that infomania will damage a worker’s performance by reducing their mental sharpness and changing their social life. Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.”

1.We can learn from the passage that “infomania” ______.

A. has a positive influence on one’s IQ

B. results in the change of part of the brain

C. lies in the problem of lack of concentration

D. is caused by too much use of modern technology

2.The research mentioned in the passage is most probably about ______.

A. the important function of advanced technology

B. the damage to one’s brain done by unhealthy habits

C. the relevance between IQ and use of modern technology

D. the relationship between intelligence and working effectiveness

Some time ago ,I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended , as there are a whole lot of antique shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth - so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,“ Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “ Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK, ”he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds. ”“It ‘s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it's nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?”I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done. ”“I'll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean？ You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I'm sorry, I'll give you twenty -seven pounds for it. ”“ Your must be crazy, ”he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair. ”“ You’re right, ”I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, Would you mend this chair for me?I wouldn't have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?”He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
【小题1】We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.

Ted doesn’t like cars. He wants people to stop driving because cars make the air dirty. Ted had an idea. He said,“I’m going to cycle around North America. I want to show everyone that cycling is a fun way to get around. If more people ride bikes, the air will be cleaner.”

He left his hometown with $160 in his pocket. When he got to San Diego, he met another cyclist. The cyclist invited Ted to speak at a big meeting about the environment. He said,“We’ll pay your airfare to Texas and we’ll pay you to talk about your cycling trip.”Two hours later, Ted was on a plane to the environmental conference and to a big surprise!

While he was at the conference, he met Deanna. It was love at first sight! They talked for six hours straight.

The next day, Ted called Deanna and asked her to finish the trip with him. Deanna said yes, sold everything in her apartment, gave her notice at work, and was on the road with Ted 20 days later!

“It was difficult at first,”said Deanna. “Ted got up every morning at 6:00 a.m., but I wanted to sleep until noon.”After a few days, they started having fun. As they cycled from Florida to Montreal and then back to Vancouver, every day was an adventure. People paid for their food in restaurants and gave them extra money. Some people gave them $50 or $100. They slept in people’s backyards and drank beer with motorcycle gangs.

On their way back to Vancouver, they stopped in Edmonton to visit Ted’s relatives. During the stopover, they got married. People tied a “Just Married”sign and tin cans to the backs of their bikes. They now want to write a book about their trip. “We want people to know that you can be an environmentalist and still have fun, ”Ted said.

Ted got paid for ______.

A. giving a talk about his cycling trip             B. cycling throughout North America

C. traveling around North America by air          D. attending conferences on cycling

The “big surprise” he had at the conference was that _______ .

A. he met another cyclist who wanted to join him             B. he fell in love with a girl there

C. he gave a long talk lasting 6 hours         D. he had a lot of fun talking about his cycling trip

The underlined part “gave her notice at work” probably means __________ .

A. Deanna was fired by her boss for not going to work

B. Deanna asked for a long leave from work to join Ted in his trip   

C. Deanna told people beforehand that she would leave her job        

D. Deanna handed in the notice that she were asked to finish before

During the trip, Ted and Deanne ___________.

A. found it hard to get up early               B. were attacked by motorcycle gangs

C. never pay for their meals in restaurants      D. got married

Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth, so I decided that my approach must be wrong, and I should try another way.

I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,” “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “ You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “Would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver(五英镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer _________.

A．was rather impolite

B．was warmly received

C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2.The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means _________.

A．plan for dealing with things                B．way of doing things

C．idea of repairing things                   D．decision to sell things

3.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _______.

A． saw the writer’s purpose               B．accepted the offer

C． changed his mind                       D．decided to help the writer

4.How much did the writer pay?

A．￡ 5.             B．￡ 7.             C．￡ 20.            D．￡ 27.

5.From the text, we can learn that the writer was _________.

A．honest           B．careful            C． funny            D．clever