If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?
Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.
The nature of what is news may change. What essentially makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted(传送) electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (伦敦的舰队街，以报馆集中而著称) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (装置) to do the job for you.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.
【小题1】The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.

People from Great Britain brought the English language to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. And in the __36__ 300 years, there were so many___37__ in both places that now people can easily___38__ an English person from an American in the___39__ he or she talks.

Many old words___40__ in England but were kept in America．For example,300 years ago people in Great Britain got their water from something they__41__either a“faucet”,“spigot”,or a“tap”.All these words are___42__ heard in different parts of America, but only “tap”is still___43_ in England．Americans often make___44__ new words or change old ones. “Corn”is one kind of plant in America and__45__ in England．

Also, over the last three centuries the English language has___46__ thousands of new words for things that weren’t___47__ before. And often, American and English people used two__48__ names for them. A tin can is called“tin”for short in English, but a “can”in America．The word “radio”is__49__all over the world, including America．But many English people call it a “wireless”.And almost anything___50__ something to do with cars, railroads, etc．has different___51__ in British and American English.

But now American and British English may be___52__ closer together. One thing is that__ 53_ people can hear a large amount of American speech daily in___54__, on television, or from travelers. Because of this, Americans___55__ to be influencing the British more and more. So some day, English may even be the same on both sides of the Atlantic．

A. past                    B．recent              C．oldest              D．latest

A. citizens                  B．inventions        C．changes           D．advances

A. pick                   B．tell                  C．take                 D．judge

A. voice                     B．place               C．language          D．way

A. disappeared            B．stayed              C．returned           D．formed

A. said                    B. talked               C．spoke              D．called

A. then                B．hardly             C．clearly             D．still

A. necessary            B．native              C．common          D．lively

A. of                      B．into                 C．up                   D．out

A. another             B．the other          C．none                D．something

A. discovered            B．added              C. improved          D．learned

A. accepted                  B．known             C．introduced              D．understood

A. new                     B．short               C．different          D．surprising

A. produced             B．made               C．developed        D．used

A. having              B．bringing          C．getting             D．making

A. types                   B．names              C．degrees            D．parts

A. putting             B．staying            C．living              D．growing

A. British              B．American         C．educated          D．ordinary

A. families            B．buses               C．movies            D．newspapers

A. need                    B．expect             C．seem               D．happen

 “Hey, Dad，” one of my kids asked the other day, “what was your favourite fast food when you were growing up？”

“We didn't have fast food when I was growing up，” I informed him. “All the food was slow.”

“Come on, seriously. Where did you eat？”

“It was a place called ‘home’” I explained.“Grandma cooked every day and when Grandpa got home from work, we sat down together at the dining table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I liked it.”

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it：

I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza. It was called “pizza pie”. When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, and plastered itself against my chin. It's still the best pizza I ever had.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was. Bread and rolls came from the Omar man. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered a newspaper, six days a week even when the snow was 18 inches deep. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents, I had to get up at 4：00 a．m. every morning. On Saturdays, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

1. Hearing what the author said, his child probably thought ________.

A. he was lucky to have fast food

B. it was unbelievable to live without fast food

C. how happy his own life was

D. his father was joking with him

2. When he used to have meals with the adults, the author ________.

A. had to watch his table manners

B. could choose what he liked

C. was not given much freedom

D. had to eat everything offered to him

3. What do we know about the first pizza the author had?

A. It left a good memory on him.

B. The author didn't like it at all.

C. It was too poorly made.

D. He didn't know how to eat it.

4. Why did the author talk about his experience of delivering newspapers?

A. To show that his family used to be quite poor.

B. To show that children before had to make a living by themselves.

C. To show that he had gained a lot from the experience.

D. To show that growing experience was quite different before.

5. What's the author's attitude towards today's children?

A. He thinks they are spoiled.

B. He thinks they are too obsessed with fast food.

C. He thinks they should go through some hardship.

D. He doesn't give his personal opinion.

—Anything special in today’s papers?
—Yes. “Confidence is more important than gold” by Premier Wen ________as a headline in many of today’s newspapers.

Alice reads the New York Times every day.She doesn’t read

        newspapers.

A.some other                B.all other                    C.any other                   D.any more