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

This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD（公元） 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, 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 happy do you feel?

Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up 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（电） often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.

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 Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave（微波炉）, computer or mobile phones.

The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（赶时髦的）, beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.

1. The writer uses the quote（引号） at the beginning of the story to ________.

A. tell us a truth about our lives

B. tell us what life was like long time ago

C. point out what causes such a thing to happen

D. point out some problems we will meet in the life

2. In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions _______.

A. have speeded up our lives B. have improved the quality of our lives

C. may make people feel very happy D. may bring people some trouble

3. The family chose to spend some time in a 1940s house because _______.

A. they loved to live simple lives

B. they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions

C. they were troubled by modern inventions

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

4. According to the passage, which id NOT right?

A. People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier.

B. An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better.

C. The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house.

D. With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired.

5. The passage is mainly about ??????????????________.

A. problems with technology

B. improvements of our lives with technology

C. changes happening to technology

D. the importance of technology

In 1926, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden. That was the first photo. The next important date in the history of photography was in 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room. He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called a Daguerreotype(银版照相). Soon other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world. People took pictures of famous buildings, cities and mountains. In about 1840, photography was developed. Then photographers could take picture of people and moving things. That was not simple. The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the US worked so hard. Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people. The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike(栩栩如生的). Photography also became one kind of art by the end of the 19^th century. Some photos were not just copies of the real world. They showed feelings, like other kinds of art.

1. The first photo taken by Niepce was a picture of _______.

A. his business   B. his house     C. his garden       D. his window

2. The Daguerreotype was _______.

A. a Frenchman                    B. a kind of picture

C. a kind of camera                 D. a photographer

3. If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840s, he had to ________.

A. watch lots of films

B. buy an expensive camerax_k_b_1

C. stop in most cities

D. take many films and something else with him

4. Mathew Brady________.

A. was very lifelike                    B. was famous for his unusual pictures

C. was quite strong                 D. took many pictures of moving people

5. This passage tells us ________.

    A. how photography was developed

    B. how to show your ideas and feelings in pictures

    C. how to take pictures in the world

    D. how to use different cameras

阅读理解，阅读下列材料，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

1. If you want to buy a new jacket, you’ll have to go to _______.

   A. 3031 No.3 Road                        B. 5300 No.3 Road

   C. 9020 Bridgeport Road                  D. 1100 Chesnut Street

2. If you want to go out for dinner on Sunday, you can call up the number _______.

   A. 22785161 or 22706030                  B. 22706030 or 33562367

   C. 77364431 or 22785161                  D. 33562367 or 22785161

3. You don’t have to pay on Monday if you go to _______.

   A. Skyline Hotel                         B. Lansdowne Park Shopping Center

   C. New York Museum                       D. Garden Restaurant

4. If you want to enjoy yourself on Sunday mornings, you can go to _______.

   A. Lansdowne Park Shopping Center        B. New York Museum

   C. Garden Restaurant                     D. Coffee Shop

5. Visiting New York Museum, you can know _______.

   A. the history of American native people B. the history of New York

   C. the art of America                        D. the art of New York

完形填空，阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Shyness（害羞） means feeling frightened when you’re around other people. Some children are   1   shy. Some become very shy later because of their life experience. 2 , everybody gets a little shy sometimes. It’s just how much they feel shy.

Most people have red faces and talk in   3   sentences（句子） when they are shy. But some become   4   shy that they won’t go to a restaurant because they are too nervous to   5  and pay for their food. Some are afraid of meeting   6   people, so they seldom go outside. This kind of shyness can be   7   for a person.

If shyness doesn’t stop you from doing something you want to do, being shy isn’t a big   8  . Some experts（专家） say shy people are good at working because they think more and   9  less. But remember not to let good opportunities（机会） pass you by just because of it. If you have to sing a song at a birthday party or give some performances in front of others, just do it. There’s nothing to   10  .

1. A. shown           B. born          C. thought        D. seen

2. A. For example     B. In fact      C. So far        D. First of all

3. A. broken          B. strange       C. different     D. boring

4. A. very            B. too           C. quite         D. so

5. A. pack           B. order         C. cook          D. serve

6. A. new            B. foreign        C. old           D. friendly

7. A. good           B. helpful       C. bad           D. usual

8. A. question       B. example       C. excuse        D. problem

9. A. do            B. talk              C. get            D. sleep

10. A. think about  B. pay attention to  C. worry about    D. be afraid of

 —Why not come and join us in the game?

—__________, but I must meet Mr Smith at his office now.

A. I’d like to.     B. Let’s go         C. Yes, please        D. It’s a pleasure

—Could you tell me _____ the Sports Center?

—The day after tomorrow, I think.

A. when will you visit B. when you will visit

C. when would you visit D. when you would visit

 Where have you been, Ann? You        on the phone just now.

   A. wanted          B. are wanted      C. had wanted     D. were wanted

 He told me that he ________ here for five minutes.

A. has come 　     B. had arrived      C. had been  　   D. came

I am waiting for my friend.        , I will go swimming alone.

A. If he doesn’t come                  B. If he won’t come

C. If he hasn’t come                   D. If he isn’t coming

Would you mind me how this physics problem ?

A. telling; to solve B. telling; solve

C. to tell; to solve D. to tell; solve