Question

【题目】 “Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”

This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lives in Rome in AD53 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 blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. 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 simpler lives.

One family in the UK went back in time to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. 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 (重物质享受的). “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,” she said. The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer.

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-mails 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.

With the Internet and so much information available, we are expected to know everything all the time, but don’t be afraid to say sometimes: “I don’t know”.

Make sure you spend some time talking to your family. Set aside one evening a week when you don’t turn on the television. Play cards and chat instead.

【1】The passage is mainly about ________.

A.problems with technology

B.improvements of our life with technology

C.the important roles technology plays in our everyday life

D.main changes which will be likely to happen to technology

【2】The writer uses the quote (引语) at the beginning of the story to ________.

A.make the passage interestingB.tell us what life was like long time ago

C.introduce the topicD.point out that everyone is experiencing some serious problems

【3】Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940s house?

A.Because they loved to live simple lives.

B.Because they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions.

C.Because they were troubled by modern inventions.

D.Because living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them.

【4】What do you think the underlined word “available” means?

A.busy on line.B.able to be used.

C.freeD.able to be found by others.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【4】D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要讲述随着现代科学技术的发展，我们的生活中有了很多新的发明，但是这些新发明让人们感到压力和疲惫。文章最后介绍了消除这些压力的四种方法。

【1】主旨大意题。文章的关键词是inventions,根据第一段的“unwell”和第七段的“stress”可知讲述的是发明不好的一方面。文章的主要意思是随着现代科学技术的发展，我们的生活中有了很多新的发明，但是这些新发明让人们感到压力和疲惫。文章的主旨是科学技术的发展给人们带来的问题。故选A。

【2】推理判断题。短文的开头作者引用了一个生活在公元53年的罗马的一个不知名的人所说的话“生活在加速，每个人都因此而不安”。根据第三段“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?”可知作者用这句话引出了他想要谈论的话题，即生活的快速发展到底对我们是好的还是坏的。故选C 。

【3】细节理解题。根据第五段“see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones”可知因为他们想看看没有这么多发明的生活是什么样的。故选B。

【4】词义猜测题。根据第八段“Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your e-mails every day”可知一天的特定时间里关手机以及不要每天都检查自己的邮箱，目的是为了不让别人联系上你。available意思是“能被别人找到的”。故选D。