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 curbtheir longing 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 1 million cell phones in use．Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them．They far outnumber wired phones in the United States．

1.Which of the following best explains the title of the passage?

A．Cell phone users smoke less than they used to．

B．Cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes．

C．More people use cell phones than smoke cigarettes．

D．Using cell phone is just as cool as smoking cigarettes．

2.The underlined word “curb” in Paragraph 2 means ____．

A．rescue           B．ignore            C．develop           D．control

3.The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea that           ．

A．women use cell phones more often than men

B．talking on the phone while driving is dangerous

C．cell phones do not necessarily bring people together

D．cell phones make one-on-one personal contact easy

 

Half a year before graduation from college, my son began to seek a job. __1__ the financial crisis(危机), fewer companies would like to __2__ new staff. My son targeted a company that was __3__ to hire only one person __4__ there were more than twenty people filling their resumes(简历).

After the interview, there would only be 3 who could enter the final round, which would later ____5____ one person to be employed. Everything seemed to go quite ____6____ and my son passed the first round and entered the final round in a week.

On the day of the final interview, my son and other two __7__ arrived at the interview place on time, __8__ the test. Unexpectedly, the interview was unbelievably __9__. The interviewer only said to them, “All of you are very super. Please go home and wait for our __10__. We will tell you the __11__ in 3 days. Good luck to all of you!” On the morning of the third day, my son received a text from the company shortly after breakfast that he was not employed. We all felt very __12__.

In nightfall that day, my son suddenly told me __13__ on the phone, “Dad, I have been employed!” Greatly surprised, I could not wait to ask him, “What’s the whole __14__?” My son told me that he received another text saying that he was employed. Actually the first text sent to my son was also __15__ of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only my son’s __16__ was “Thank you” while the others said “Goodbye”.

Only then did I know that my son’s “hope” __17__ in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not __18__ to say “thank you” to the one who disappoints you. Saying “thank you” shows respect for others’ work and shows your grand __19__. Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get the upper hand in terms of __20__ compared with others!

1.A. As to  B. Due to  C. Instead of      D. Contrary to

2.A. promote    B. train      C. employ D. discover

3.A. encouraged        B. allowed          C. supposed      D. intended

4.A. while B. since     C. though  D. if

5.A. meet B. attract   C. decide  D. represent

6.A. slowly         B. smoothly       C. secretly         D. silently

7.A. members   B. students        C. friends  D. candidates

8.A. waiting for B. watching over        C. thinking about       D. looking into

9.A. formal        B. simple   C. funny    D. strange

10.A. information      B. notice   C. order    D. return

11.A. result       B. choice  C. mark     D. idea

12.A. annoyed  B. puzzled C. disappointed          D. shocked

13.A. doubtfully         B. excitedly       C. calmly   D. worriedly

14.A. matter      B. cause    C. conclusion    D. interview

15.A. middle     B. ending          C. part       D. course

16.A. way B. reply     C. problem        D. question

17.A. changed  B. grew     C. came     D. developed

18.A. expect     B. forget   C. dislike   D. regret

19.A. generosity        B. curiosity        C. dignity  D. personality

20.A. abilities    B. strengths       C. challenges     D. opportunities

 

短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

　　此题要求改正所给短文的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上画一个勾（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

　　该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉；在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉；该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）；在该行右边横线上写出该加的词；该行错一个词，在错的词下划一个横线；在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。注意：原行没有错的不要改。

　　A very young new officer was at a railway station. 

　　He Was on his way visit to his mother in another town.  76．_______________

　　And he wanted to telephone to her the time of his train,  77．_______________

　　so that she should meet him at the station in her car.     78．_______________

　　He looked in all his pocket, but found that he did not    79．_______________

　　have the right money for the phone. So he went out 

　　and looked round for anyone to help him.               80．_______________

　　At last he stopped an old soldier passed by，and          81．_______________

　　said, “Have you got any change for ten pence?” 

　　“Wait a moment，”the soldier says，“Let me have a look.” 82．_______________

　　“Don’t you know what to speak to an officer?”the         83．_______________

　　officer said angry.“Now start again. Have you got         84．_______________

　　any change for ten pence?”“No sir, ” the old soldier

answered quickly.                                      85．_______________

I’m not so sure I like my friends any more. I used to like them — to be honest. We’d have lunch, talk on the phone or exchange e-mails, and they all seemed normal enough. But then came Facebook and I was introduced to a sad fact: many of my friends have dark sides that they had kept from me.

Today my friends show off the more unpleasant aspects of their personalities via Facebook. No longer hidden, they’re thrown in my face like TV commercials — unavoidable and endless advertisements for the worst of their personalities.

Take Fred. If you were to have lunch with him, you’d find him warm, and down-to-earth. Read his Facebook and you realize he’s an unbearable, food-obsessed bore. He’d pause to have a cup of coffee on his way to save a drowning man — and then write about it.

Take Andy. You won’t find a smarter CEO anywhere, but now he’s a CEO without a company to lull. So he plays Mafia Wars on Facebook. He’s doing well — level 731. Thanks to Facebook, I know he’s playing about 18 hours a day. Andy, you’ve run four companies — and this is how you spend your downtime? What happened to golf? What happened to getting another job?

Take Liz. She is positive that the H1N1 vaccine will kill us all and that we should avoid it. And then comes Chris who likes to post at least 20 times a day on every website he can find, so I get to read his thoughts twice, once on Facebook and once on Twitter.

In real life, I don’t see these sides of people. Face to face, my friends show me their best. They’re nice, smart people. But face to Facebook, my friends are like a blind date which goes horribly wrong.

I’m left with a dilemma. Who is my real friend? Is it the Liz I have lunch with or the anti-vaccine lunatic(狂人)on Facebook? Is it the Fred I can grab a sandwich with or the Fred who weeps if he’s at a party and the wine isn’t up to his standards?

1.Who is opposed to the H1N1 vaccine in the text?

A．Fred.             B．Andy.             C．Liz.              D．Chris.

2.What’s Andy probably busy in doing now?

A．He’s running his company.

B．He’s playing golf all day.

C．He’s looking for another job.

D．He’s playing computer games.

3.According to the text, Facebook tends to ______.

A．present another side of people

B．offer some food for free

C．show endless advertisements

D．get you to more parties

4.The text is developed mainly by ______.

A．giving examples                        B．following the time order

C．listing figures                           D．raising questions

5.The author focuses on the question of ______.

A．what is Facebook                       B．what happened to golf

C．who is my real friend                     D．who can help me

 

Love, success, happiness, family and freedom——how important are these values to you? Here is one interview which explores the fundamental questions in life.

Question: Could you introduce yourself first?

Answer: My name is Misbah, 27 years old. I was born in a war-torn area. Right now I’m a web designer.

Q: What are your great memories?

A: My parents used to take us to hunt birds, climb trees, and play in the fields. For me it was like a holiday because we were going to have fun all day long. Those are my great memories.

Q: Does your childhood mean a lot to you?

A: Yes. As life was very hard, I used to work to help bring money in for the family. I spent my childhood working, with responsibilities beyond my age. However, it taught me to deal with problems all alone. I learnt to be independent.

Q: What changes would you like to make in your life?

A: If I could change something in my life, I’d change it so that my childhood could have taken place in another area. I would have loved to live with my family in freedom. Who cares whether we have much money, or whether we have a beautiful house? It doesn’t matter as long as I can live with my family and we are safe.

Q: How do you get along with your parents?

A: My parents supported me until I came of age. I want to give back what I’ve got. That’s our way. But I am working in another city. My only contact with my parents now is through the phone, but I hate using it. It filters(过滤)out your emotion and leaves your voice only. My deepest feelings should be passed through sight, hearing and touch.

1.In Misbah’s childhood,         .

A．he was free from worry

B．he liked living in the countryside

C．he was fond of getting close to nature

D．he often spent holidays with his family

2.What did Misbah desire most in his childhood?

A．A colorful life.                          B．A beautiful house.

C．Peace and freedom.                     D．Money for his family.

3.How would Misbah prefer to communicate with his parents?

A．By chatting on the Internet.                B．By calling them sometimes.

C．By paying weekly visits.                   D．By writing them letters.

4.If there were only one question left, what would it most probably be?

A．What was your childhood dream?

B．What is your biggest achievement?

C．What is your parents’ view of you?

D．What was your hardest experience in the war?