When Helen travels, she always takes much l______________ although her husband tries to persuade her to travel light again and again.

The hotel, which is the best in this area, offers its guests a wide v___________ of amusements.

It’s l_____________ that Jane may not come because of the heavy rain.

The walls of the house a_____________ a great deal of heat during the day in summer, so you will feel very hot even at night.

The concert evening was a real f____________ for music fans. Many popular singers were present and they were all crazy.

“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 53 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, and 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 simple lives.

Our 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 fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Also Lyn changed from being a “fashionable, 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 emails every day.

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.

Get a low-tech hobby. Every day, do something in the old-fashioned way, such as walking to have a face-to-face meeting instead of using the email or telephone.

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

68. The passage is mainly about ______.

A. the important roles technology plays in our everyday life

B. improvements of our life with technology

C. problems with technology 

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

69. The writer uses the quote (引文) at the beginning of the story to ______.

A. share a truth about life  

B. tell us what life was like long time ago

C. point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same

D. make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen

70. 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 a different time would be a lot of fun for them.

71. What do you think the underlined word “available” in the 1st suggestion offered by the writer means?

A. Busy.                        B. Free.                   C. Usable.                 D. Found by others.

Alex Palmer Haley (1925―1992) became famous for the publication of the novel Roots, which traces (追踪) his ancestry (祖先) back to Africa.

Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York. His father was a teacher of agriculture and his mother was a music teacher. The family moved to the small town of Henning, Tennessee, when Haley was very young.

Haley did not do very well at school or university. During World War II, Haley enlisted (参军) in the Coast Guard. He started to write adventure stories to keep off the boredom, and thus became Chief Journalist. After 20 years of service, Haley left the Coast Guard to become a full-time writer. He produced his first major work The Autobiography of Malcolm X in 1965. It had great effect on the black power movement in the US.

As a young boy, Alex Haley first learned of his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, by listening to the family stories of his grandparents. Alex Haley’s quest (寻求) to learn more about his family history resulted in his writing Roots. When Roots appeared in 1976, it gained popular success, although the truth of the book faced criticism. In 1977 Roots won the National Book Award and a special Pulitzer Prize. The book sold in one year more than million copies.

The book showed that the oppressed never became docile: Kunta Kinte suffered amputation (截肢) of a foot for his repeated attempts to run away. He valued his heritage (传统) so much that he never accepted the ways of his slave masters and insisted on being called by his real name Kinte, not by his slave name Toby.                                  

Haley died on February 10, 1992.                                    Roots

56. This text is ______.

A. an introduction to the novel Roots                

B. an introduction to the writer of Roots

C. about how Haley traced his ancestry back to Africa

D. about the history of slaves in America

57. How did Haley start writing?

A. He learned literature in the university and was trained to write

B. He began writing adventure stories because of the boring life in the Coast Guard

C. He was the chief journalist working for a newspaper

D. He began writing the novel without any writing experience before

58. What was the effect of Roots?

A. It had great effect on the black power movement in the US

B. People didn’t believe the book was about a true story

C. It became a bestseller all over the world at once.

D. The book was a great success and won Haley money and prizes

59. The underlined word “docile” is close to the word _____.

A. successful                 B. acceptable                C. obedient                   D. valuable

Travelers to new cities are often told to start their trip with a bus tour. It is said that they can then get a full view of the places that   36   them. Nonsense! What you see from the   37   of a moving bus is   38   and completely removed from the real sights, sounds, and    39   outside. Be adventurous! The best   40   to experience any place is on foot and with absolutely no travel plan.   41   go wherever your feet and your interests   42   you. You finally will get to the   43   sites as you are on the bus tour―the museums, the monuments, the city hall --- but you will have seen much more. You will have   44   the present life of the city.

“But what if I get lost?” people might ask. No one ever gets   45   lost in a major city.

At first, you can find your way back to a(n)   46   location. If it   47   you to be “lost”, just find a taxi and go back to where you started. However,   48   things can happen if you get lost. You can   49   at a sidewalk café to sit and relax. You can ask the local people at the next table about the directions. And   50   they don’t speak your language, your trip becomes more memorable because of the   51  . Here are a few more ways to get most out of your travel.

Know before you do.   52   a few hours before your trip learning about the history and culture of your destination. This will help you understand what you’re seeing.

Move around like a local. Use the subways and buses of the city you’re   53  . You’ll not only save money, but you’ll also learn how people really live.

Check the bulletin boards (布告牌). Sometimes you can find advertisements for free concerts and   54   fun activities on bulletin boards around universities.

So next time you see a poster advertising an introductory   55   tour, save your money. Instead, wander on your own. I promise you a time you’ll remember with great pleasure.

― Excuse me, could you tell me the way to the British Museum?

― Sorry, I am a stranger here.

― ______.

       A. Thanks anyway         B. That’s a pity             C. Thanks a lot              D. No problem