Question

For Canadians, backpacking Europe is a special ceremony signifying a new life stage. Unlike package tours, backpacking is a struggle, full of discovery and chance connections. It is about focusing on something different from our own lives and losing ourselves in a new world, if only for a moment.

Well, that's what backpacking Europe is supposed to do. That’s what it used to do before modern communications, social media, and commercial hostelling (旅社). Older Canadians would not recognize the Europe that they backpacked in the 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. Far from a rough adventure into foreign cultures, the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology.

A few years ago, I took my then 60-year-old father on a backpacking trip across part of Europe and Turkey. As he is an experienced traveler and someone who possesses a strong sense of adventure, I decided that we'd travel on a budget, staying in hostel dorms. For him, backpacking through Europe in 1969 was about independence and struggle. But two things surprised him at the end of our journey. First was how technology-based backpacking had become: Young people were so directly connected to home that they were hardly away in any meaningful sense. Second, the lack of connections we made with locals. Instead of making us feel closer to a place, he found commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的).

But there was some room for hope. While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us, there were also ways in which it helped us to connect with our surroundings. Websites like Airbnb have made it easier to stay with enthusiastic locals. Couch Surfing helps organize meet-ups between locals and travelers. The online marketplace Dopios offers a chance to meet locals through enjoyable experiences like a personalized city tour.

Backpacking can never be the way it was for our parents’ generation. But doing a little study of history and culture before leaving, and bravely getting rid of any electronic devices while traveling, will help give young travelers a taste of the glory days.

1.The underlined word “shattered” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. broadened B. relived

C. ruined D. acquired

2.Which of the following can be used to describe the author’s father?

A. Sensitive. B. Adventurous.

C. Strict. D. Generous.

3.After the recent backpacking trip in Europe, the author’s father finds ________.

A. backpackers connect less with locals than before

B. young people dislike getting in touch with their family

C. a hostel is a nice place for travelers to meet each other

D. backpacking in Europe becomes more difficult than before

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards technology?

A. Negative.

B. Objective.

C. Uncertain.

D. Uninterested.

5.The text mainly discusses the relationship between ________.

A. technology and traveling

B. adventures and cultures

C. young people and their family

D. Canadian travelers and Europeans

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.B

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要讲述了现代科技给背包旅行带来的影响。背包旅行是发现之旅，一个人背包迷失在陌生的城市里。在这个过程中，你会和很多人产生联系。但是，随着现代通讯、社交媒体等的发展，现代科技正在逐渐地把人们的注意力从自然环境和人文景观上移开。

1.Older Canadians would not recognize the Europe...Far from a rough adventure into foreign cultures”和下一段“they were hardly away...the lack of connections...commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的)”可知，欧洲之旅遭到了现代科技的破坏，科技使人们和家人之间的联系更加紧密，也使人们缺少了与当地人的联系，从而无法真正体验欧洲的风情，故选C。

2.As he is an experienced traveler and someone who possesses a strong sense of adventure”可知，作者父亲是一位有着强烈的冒险意识的人，故选B。

3.Young people were so directly connected to home...”排除B；旅馆是供游客居住的，排除C；根据第二段“before modern communications, social media, and commercial hostelling (旅社)”可知，随着现代通讯、社交媒体和商业旅馆的发展，欧洲之旅变得更容易了，排除D；根据第三段“the lack of connections we made with locals...commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的)”可知，商业旅馆的发展减少了游客与当地人的联系，故选A。

4.the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology”和第四段“But there was some room for hope. While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us, there were also ways in which it helped us to connect with our surroundings.”可知，作者认为现代科技在一定程度上破坏了欧洲之旅，尽管这样，仍然有一些方法可以帮助我们与周围的环境产生联系，说明作者的态度是客观的，故选B。

5.backpacking Europe is a special ceremony...backpacking is a struggle, full of discovery and chance connections”和第二段“the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology”与第四段“While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us”及第五段“and bravely getting rid of any electronic devices while traveling”可知，文章主要讲的是背包旅行和现代科技的关系，故选A。

考点：生活类短文阅读