19．Cell Phones Are the New Cigarettes
When you get in your car，you reach for it．When you're at work，you take a break to have a moment alone with it．When you get into a lift，you play with it．
Cigarettes？Cup of coffee？No，it's the third most addictive thing in modern life，the cell phone．And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their desire to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships．
With its shiny surface，its smooth and satisfying touch，its air of complexity，the cell phone connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away．In just the past couple of years，the cell phone has challenged individuals，employers，phone makers and counselors（顾问） in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined．
The costs are becoming even more evident，and I don't mean just the monthly bill．Dr．Chris Knippers，a counselor at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California，reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions：a barrier to one-on-one personal contact，and an escape from reality．
Sounds extreme，but we've all witnessed the evidence：The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal，ignoring his kids around the table； the woman who talks on the phone in the car，ignoring her husband； the teen who texts messages all the way home from school，avoiding contact with kids all around him．
Is it just rude，or is it a kind of unhealthiness？And pardon me，but how is this improving the quality of life？
Jim Williams，an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts，notes that cell-phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation．He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with．Despite the growing use of phones，e-mail and instant messaging，in other words，Williams says studies show that we don't have as many friends as our parents．"Just as more information has led to less wisdom，more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends，"he says．
If the cell phone has truly had these effects，it's because it has become very widespread．Consider that in 1987，there were only 1million cell phones in use．Today，something like 300million Americans carry them．They far outnumber wired phones in the United States．
51．Which of the following best explains the title of the passage？C
A．Cell phone users smoke less than they used to．
B．More people use cell phones than smoke cigarettes．
C．Cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes．
D．Using cell phone is just as cool as smoking cigarettes．
52．The underlined word"curb"in Paragraph 2meansA．
A．control B．ignore C．develop D．rescue
53．The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea thatD．
A．women use cell phones more often than men
B．talking on the phone while driving is dangerous
C．cell phones make one-on-one personal contact easy
D．cell phones do not necessarily bring people together．
分析 本文是篇议论文，主要讲述了在日常生活中由于手机的过度使用，人们忽视了与周围人的相处，从而导致了人与人间的关系更为疏远．
解答 51-53 CAD
51 C 推理判断题．文章标题的意思是"手机是一种新型的香烟"，是个比喻，结合第二段中的"Cigarettes？Cup of cof？fee？No，it's the third most addictive thing in modern life，the cellphone．"可知手机已经成了和香烟、咖啡一样让人上瘾的东西．故选C．
52 A 词义猜测题．句中hug后面的it应指的是手机这件令人上瘾的东西．既然是件令人上瘾的东西，那么对它的迷恋程度对很多人来说就应是很难"控制"了，故选A项control．
53 D 推理判断题．结合文章第四段的"…a barrier to oneonone personal contact，and an escape from reality．"可知手机已成为一个人与人之间面对面交流的阻碍，没有拉近人们的关系，故选 D．
点评 做阅读理解时要快速的浏览全文，把握文章主旨大意，带着问题回到原文，寻找细节或概括相应的答案，最后要理清作者写作思路．
