Our family                a happy one.

Our family ____ a happy one.

 A．is  B．are   C．was   D．were

Our family                a happy one.

　　       A. is   B. are   C. was   D. were

“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”

This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it.

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives.

But have all these developments really improve 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 blank 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 our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead a simpler life.

One 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 Tomas, 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（时髦的）, 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 soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying.

Don’t worry too much about life—laugh more.

1.The passage is mainly about     __    .

    A. problem with technology    

    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

2. The writer quoted（引用）what a citizen in ancient Rome said at the beginning of the story in order to      __   .

    A. share a truth about life      

    B. tell us what life was like long time ago

    C. 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

3.

4.

When I was little, my family used to move frequently．Before I could even get   1   with my schoolmates, my family was on the move again．I became very   2   because of this．

But a girl with dark skin and long shiny hair   3   me．Her best characteristics are her openness and 4  ．She is always smiling, like a beautiful sunflower following the sun．Without   5   I enjoyed being with her and soon we became good friends．As time went by, I gradually became a   6   girl．But this joyful period didn’t last long．We were admitted to different colleges．I felt like I had gone 7   to my always-on-the-move childhood．I felt  8   and helpless and I was afraid that I would 9   her as my best friend．She stayed calm and said to me: “Rain, you can achieve more than I do, so 10   to your dreams and make a big effort! Real friendship doesn’t fade and we will be best friends forever．” Maybe she didn’t realize what a great   11   she was to me at that time．

However, it turned out that my   12   were well-founded （有根据的）．I felt that the   13   between us was getting bigger and bigger．One day, she sent me a text message happily telling me that she had fallen in love with a handsome boy in her class．

I felt happy for her, but at the same time I was secretly worried about our friendship．I  14   her several times intending to tell her to think carefully about her  15  with the boy, but I got no more messages from her．I felt sad that perhaps our friendship would not   16  ．I had almost given up hope 17   she visited me at my campus a week later．She looked  18   but was wearing the most beautiful smile．She gave me a big hug and said: “I’m sorry．I want to be myself and your friend forever!” We cried together,   19   the people walking past．She told me her sad story, and we knew we had gone back to how it was before．

Now I firmly believe that distance and time can’t   20   you from a friend．If you care enough about each other, friendship never fades．

1．A．mad                      B．bored                  C．acquainted           D．patient

2．A．silent                    B．disappointed         C．outspoken           D．crazy

3．A．helped                   B．changed              C．attracted              D．impressed

4．A．faithfulness           B．cheerfulness        C．quietness             D．kindness

5．A．delay                    B．hesitation             C．problem              D．doubt

6．A．happy                   B．lucky                  C．helpful                D．successful

7．A．over                     B．down                  C．out                     D．back

8．A．scared                  B．strange                C．ashamed              D．homesick

9．A．leave                     B．miss                    C．lose                    D．desert

10．A．hold back            B．hold on                C．hold up               D．hold out

11．A．burden                B．example               C．encouragement    D．wonder

12．A．conclusions         B．expectations         C．dreams               D．concerns

13．A．difference            B．distance               C．misunderstanding D．conflict

14．A．visited                 B．messaged            C．telephoned           D．wrote

15．A．relationship          B．satisfaction          C．life                      D．story

16．A．return                 B．develop               C．survive                D．advance

17．A．until                    B．when                  C．as                       D．unless

18．A．cheerful              B．relaxed                C．calm                   D．pale

19．A．forgetting            B．noticing               C．ignoring              D．overlooking

20．A．protect                B．prevent                C．free                    D．separate