People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(选择权). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.

1. 1.

   We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.

   1. A.
      the spelling mistakes in the messages make her very annoyed
   2. B.
      only writing letters will bring friends and neighbors much closer
   3. C.
      she talks to plants more because no one shares her joys and sorrows
   4. D.
      gestures and the pen can express a lot more than the cold keyboard
2. 2.

   According to the writer, which of the following can support her opinion?

   1. A.
      She has been separated from all his classmates many years.
   2. B.
      No doctors write prescriptions by hand because of computers.
   3. C.
      In communication, we should write more letters than send messages.
   4. D.
      Less shy than school girls, boys rarely write letters to their friends.
3. 3.

   According to the passage, we can conclude that ________.

   1. A.
      the writer is a person full of emotions and treasures friendship and affections
   2. B.
      the writer becomes excited when she gets priceless gifts from other people
   3. C.
      her classmates would write to each other because they couldn’t send messages
   4. D.
      people put a smiley face at the end of a message just to show they are happy
4. 4.

   What message is conveyed in the passage?

   1. A.
      The writer wastes much time in reading many rubbish text messages every day.
   2. B.
      Few people can write letters well in modern society owing to texting messages.
   3. C.
      Now people are too busy to communicate with each other face to face often.
   4. D.
      The writer prefers personal communication rather than electronic equipment.
5. 5.

   Why does the writer mention the telegram?

   1. A.
      Because she thinks the annoyance of reading text messages is originated from it.
   2. B.
      Because we have more options to keep in touch with each other than ever before.
   3. C.
      Because advanced technology partly takes the blame for lacking the human touch.
   4. D.
      Because she thinks humans today become colder with the development of society.
6. 6.

   Which of the following best describe the tone of this passage?

   1. A.
      Optimistic.
   2. B.
      Critic.
   3. C.
      Sympathetic.
   4. D.
      Pessimistic.

I recently ran into a friend I hadn’t seen for a long while．Our conversation was lively and full of news from both sides．Before we parted she said，“You'll have to drop in sometime.” I immediately sensed that if I simply  “dropped in’’  I would take my friend by surprise，and I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway，staring at me，and asking，“Oh，err …what brings you here?”
Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 1960s, it seemed that people - mostly relatives, but also friends - were always popping in. My parents would put coffee on，and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it．Then the conversation would begin…The neighbor lady，a worrier，was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened．The Irish man next door had such an accent that I remember asking what language he spoke．My Polish relatives arrived in packs…But I never heard my parents say anything like “We weren’t expecting you’’ or “This isn’t a good time．”Drop-in visitors had a certain right of way and became No．1．
What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer．Times have changed．Everybody gets busy with work．There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest．Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment．
Just the other day a former student of mine showed up．“I'm sorry for the surprise visit．”my student began．“I just wanted to see if you still lived here．I'll only stay a minute．”My response was immediate.“ No, you won’t,” I said.“Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we’ll talk.’’
I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza．And we had a lovely time．I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort．
【小题1】The author thought of his friend’s invitation --- “You’ll have to drop in sometime”--- as _______.

I recently ran into a friend I hadn’t seen for a long while．Our conversation was lively and full of news from both sides．Before we parted she said，“You'll have to drop in sometime.” I immediately sensed that if I simply  “dropped in’’  I would take my friend by surprise，and I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway，staring at me，and asking，“Oh，err …what brings you here?”

Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 1960s, it seemed that people - mostly relatives, but also friends - were always popping in. My parents would put coffee on，and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it．Then the conversation would begin…The neighbor lady，a worrier，was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened．The Irish man next door had such an accent that I remember asking what language he spoke．My Polish relatives arrived in packs…But I never heard my parents say anything like “We weren’t expecting you’’ or “This isn’t a good time．”Drop-in visitors had a certain right of way and became No．1．

What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer．Times have changed．Everybody gets busy with work．There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest．Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment．

Just the other day a former student of mine showed up．“I'm sorry for the surprise visit．”my student began．“I just wanted to see if you still lived here．I'll only stay a minute．”My response was immediate.“ No, you won’t,” I said.“Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we’ll talk.’’

I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza．And we had a lovely time．I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort．

1.The author thought of his friend’s invitation --- “You’ll have to drop in sometime”--- as _______.

A．a nice way of refusal

B．an excuse of leaving

C．a kind of politeness

D．an expression of surprise

2.The underlined phrase “ pop in”  in the second paragraph means _________.

A．make many friends

B．make a special date

C．have a good time

D．pay a sudden visit

3.The woman from the neighborhood used to visit the author’s home to ________.

A．seek comfort from my parents

B．make new friends

C．1isten to my parents’ story

D．taste nice dishes

4.From the third paragraph of the passage，we can infer that __________．

A．the author misses the lost good days

B．unexpected visitors are still welcome now

C．modern people prefer outdoor activities

D．there are more jobs for the housewives now

5.The author writes the passage intending to __________.     

A．encourage people to be drop-in visitors

B．explain how to deal with unexpected visitors

C．share his feelings about the drop-in tradition

D．show the importance of making friends