Question

When writer Nicholas Carr began researching his book on whether the Internet is bad for our minds，he restricted (限制) his online access.

His new book “The Shallows：What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains”  suggests the latest technology makes us less able to think deeply.Cart found he couldn’t concentrate and that he couldn’t work on the book while staying online.

“So，I was only checking my e­mail a couple of times a day rather than every 45 seconds.I found those types of things really did make a difference，” he said.

After at first feeling uncomfortable with his sudden loss of online connection，within a couple of weeks，Carr was able to stay concentrated on one task for a longer period.

Carr wrote a 2008 Atlantic magazine piece that asked a question  “Is Google Making Us Stupid？”  and wanted to dig deeper into how the Internet changes our minds.His book examines the history of reading and the science of how using different media (媒体) changes our brains.Exploring how society changed from an oral tradition to the printed word and to the Internet，he explains how the brain adjusts itself to new information sources.

Reading on the Internet has greatly changed how we use our brains，he writes.Facing a lot of text，photos，videos，music，text messages，e­mails and blogs，our minds have become used to skimming (略读) and scanning (跳读) information.As a result，we have developed sharper skills at making fast decisions，Carr says.But now most of us infrequently read books，long essays or articles that would help us concentrate，Carr writes.

Carr says for centuries books helped focus our minds on one topic at a time.He has a suggestion for those who feel web surfing has left them unable to concentrate—slow down，turn off the Internet and practice the skills of being deep in thought.

54．Nicholas Carr’s new book is mainly to study________.

A．the advantages of the Internet                B．the development of our brains

C．the ways of using the Internet                D．the bad influences of the Internet

55．What may we find in Nicholas Carr’s new book?

A．The history of the Internet.                    B．The media’s influence on our brains.

C．Ways of reading online.                         D．Ways of training our brains.

56．According to Nicholas Carr，we make fast decisions because of________.

A．our reading habits                                 B．our smarter brains

C．there being fewer books                        D．there being less information

57．What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To change our habits of life.                  B．To give us some warnings.

C．To ask us to buy Carr’s new book.         D．To give us some useful advice.

Answer 1

　本文主要介绍了作家Nicholas Carr写的一本书，该书论述了像因特网这样的现代科技对人的大脑思维所带来的影响。

54．D　细节理解题。文章第一段说这本书是关于因特网对我们思维能力的破坏的，而且从第二段第一句话也可以看出这本书的主要内容，故选D项。

55．B　细节判断题。根据文章第五段中的His book examines the history of reading and the science of how using different media changes our brains可知，从这本书里能够知道媒体是如何影响我们的大脑的，故选B项。

56．A　推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段，太多的信息改变了我们的阅读方法，使我们习惯了略读和跳读，从而使我们的大脑习惯了快速决断，故选A项。

57．D　推理判断题。文章最后一段首先指出读书有利于集中注意力，然后说到如果上网已经使我们不能集中注意力，那么他建议我们最好慢下来，关闭因特网，因此本段旨在给我们提出如何集中注意力的建议。