Question

Speed reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to get key words and the meaning of the text. With so much information through our electronic device (设备), it would be impossible to get through everything if we read word by word, line by line. But a new trend calls on people to enjoy reading slowly.

A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones. They sit in comfortable chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn’t to share ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment.

Slow readers, such as TheAtlantic’sMaura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves attention, lowers stress levels and deepens the ability to understand others. Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that adults who take part in activities that use their brain, such as reading, suffer (遭受) less memory loss as they get older.

Yet technology has made us less careful readers. Computer and phone screens have changed our reading patterns from the top-to-bottom, left-to-right reading order we traditionally used, to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we search for important words and information. Reading text online that has many links to other web pages also leads to weaker understanding than reading plain text (纯文本). The Internet may have made us stupider, says British journalist Patrick Kingsley from the Guardian, only half joking. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a large number of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, think and relate all these facts to each other.

Slowing reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment. Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. “You can squeeze in (挤出) that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments — whenever you want to check your favorite site for something to pass the time— you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said.

1.The words “backed up” in Paragraph 3 probably mean “______”.

A. given back B. called back C. supported D. disagreed

2.Kingsley believes that the Internet has weaken people’s ability to ______.

A. get key words rapidly B. share ideas about books

C. collect interesting news D. think deeply about information

3.According to the passage, slow reading___________.

A. improves understanding among people

B. treats the memory loss of elderly people

C. provides people with a quiet environment

D. slows down the development of electronic device

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Benefit of Reading Clubs B. Return of Slow Reading

C. Reading of the Internet Age D. Influence of Speed Reading

1.C 2.D 3.A 4.B 【解析】本文介绍了在互联网时代，快读是必要的阅读技巧，但是作者鼓励慢读，并介绍了慢读的好处。 1.C 词义猜测题。根据For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that adults ...

Answer 1