Think about how many ways there are for you to communicate today. You can send a letter or pick up the phone and make a call. But today, one of the most popular ways to communicate is called instant messaging. In any instant messaging system, you type a little text message on your computer, press the “Send” button, and your message INSTANTLY shows up on your friend’s screen. But how does it work?

Actually, the whole process is very cool. In the 1980s, you could sit down at a computer at any big university. Up to 100 people would be logged in and sharing the computer. They had to share because these computers were very expensive. You could type a command to send an instant message to anyone logged into the same computer. It felt like everyone was connected together no matter where they were sitting. 

Today, you can do the same thing — but with lots more possibilities. And you can communicate with just about anyone in the world. All you need is an instant messaging program installed(安装) on your computer. There are many programs to choose from. AOL's instant messenger (AIM) is probably the most popular right now. MSN has one. Google has Google Talk. Ask your friends and find out what they are using. That will make it easier to communicate with them. 

When you are ready, you create an account. Next, you need to figure out the IM names your friends use. Add their IM names to your IM program. Click on the friend you want to talk to and then type away. When you click end, your friend gets the message instantly. 

But behind the scenes（在后台，在幕后）, amazing things are happening. Your IM program is communicating with a computer, called a server. The server could be just down the road or even in some other city. All your friend's computers are communicating with a server, too. Your computer is constantly chatting with the server to make everything happen. The network called the Internet makes it all possible.

72. What could be the best title for the passage ?  

A. How to Send Instant Messages.

B. The Easiest Way to Talk to a friend.   

C. Different Ways of Communication.            

D. Development of Communication. 

73. Why did so many people share a computer at that time?  

A. Because they want to be connected to each other.  

B. Because computers were too large.

C. Because few people knew how to use computer.   

D. Because computers were too dear.  

74. From the passage we can see that “Google Talk”_______.  

A. is a kind of search engine          B. refers to a computer company 

C. is an IM program                 D. is a famous web site

75. Which of the following is the right order to send an instant message?   

a. Press the “send” button         b. Type a little text message  

c. Add the receiver’s IM names     d. Open your IM program   

A. d, c, b, a.         B. b, c, d, a        C. d ,b, c, a     D. b. c. a. d

E
When I was growing up, 16 was always a magical age, a symbol of maturity, responsibility and of course more independence and freedom.  I sat through the hours of Driver’s Ed classes eager to get out on the road. I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license.
But it’s a different story for today’s teens. In January, the U.S. Department Transportation released 2012 data that showed only 30.7 percent of U.S. teens got their license at age 16, Twenty years before, that number was almost 45 percent.
There are numbers of reasons for the fall – off. The growing responsibilities like paying for insurance and high gas prices discourage teens from getting behind the wheel. Plus, many teens today are so busy with homework, endless hours of activities and part-time jobs, that finding the time for Driver’s Ed classes may be more difficult that ever.
In addition, many states have raised the driving age, or restricted when teens can drive and who they can have in the car. Parents may also be making their own personal restrictions until they feel their teens are responsible enough to drive safely.
Driving is part of the American culture, but it’s not the central focus like it was 25 years ago. They have so many other things to do now. One of the more interesting factors delaying teens driving might be the change of their social life. Today, teens need to look no further than Face book or other social networking sites to connect with their friends. There is simply less need, maybe less desire, to be able to grab the keys and go.
Michelle Wei got her license as a senior in high school because her digital social life made it easy no to drive. “If I couldn’t get a ride to see my friend who lives a town over,” the 19-year-old said, “I could talk on IM or Skype.”
Research has shown that these online relationships can lead to higher quality friendships, so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it’s important to find a balance. If old face-to-face friendships are good, why not drive to find them?
【小题1】We can infer from the first paragraph that         .

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.

Talking on a mobile phone is expensive, so a lot of people send text messages. Text messages are much cheaper than talking on a mobile phone, and you can make it cheaper by making the words shorter. You can do this by taking out “unimportant” letters in the words and using numbers instead of words (2 =" to," 3 =" free," 4 =" for," 8 =" ate," so h8 =" hate," etc.). You can also keep away from using punctuation (标点). Here is an example: Do U wnt 2 g 2 th cnma tnite (Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?)
What do you think these text messages mean?
Whr hv U bn? Iv bn wtng hrs fr a cll.
Im hm nw, why nt gv me a cll.
I gt a txt mssge frm my frnd. Shes hvng a prty on Strdy.
Mobile phone users have developed a group of symbols (符号) to show how they feel. They are called emoticons, and there are some examples below. To read an emoticon, you have to look at it sideways. For example, if you say something in a text message that is a joke, you can follow it with a smiling face. Like this: Why didt u call me? I’m so sad.   (
Here are some others. Can you think of text messages where you could use them?
) laughing     ( sad    ＜ really sad
Ⅴ shouting    |·| asleep   ：0 shocked
8·| surprised    \·o bored
【小题1】Why are text messages popular?

E

When I was growing up, 16 was always a magical age, a symbol of maturity, responsibility and of course more independence and freedom.  I sat through the hours of Driver’s Ed classes eager to get out on the road. I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license.

But it’s a different story for today’s teens. In January, the U.S. Department Transportation released 2012 data that showed only 30.7 percent of U.S. teens got their license at age 16, Twenty years before, that number was almost 45 percent.

There are numbers of reasons for the fall – off. The growing responsibilities like paying for insurance and high gas prices discourage teens from getting behind the wheel. Plus, many teens today are so busy with homework, endless hours of activities and part-time jobs, that finding the time for Driver’s Ed classes may be more difficult that ever.

In addition, many states have raised the driving age, or restricted when teens can drive and who they can have in the car. Parents may also be making their own personal restrictions until they feel their teens are responsible enough to drive safely.

Driving is part of the American culture, but it’s not the central focus like it was 25 years ago. They have so many other things to do now. One of the more interesting factors delaying teens driving might be the change of their social life. Today, teens need to look no further than Face book or other social networking sites to connect with their friends. There is simply less need, maybe less desire, to be able to grab the keys and go.

Michelle Wei got her license as a senior in high school because her digital social life made it easy no to drive. “If I couldn’t get a ride to see my friend who lives a town over,” the 19-year-old said, “I could talk on IM or Skype.”

Research has shown that these online relationships can lead to higher quality friendships, so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it’s important to find a balance. If old face-to-face friendships are good, why not drive to find them?

1.We can infer from the first paragraph that         .

A．Driver’s Ed classes allowed teens to know what maturity was

B．getting a driving license at 16 was a must for American teens

C．16 was considered an age when one could get his driver’s license

D．teens could drive on the road without taking Driver’s Ed classes

2.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Desire to drive on the road declines among American teens.

B．Getting a license costs much more than ever before.

C．Social networking sites are changing the life of American teens.

D．American teens are becoming more responsible than ever.

3.Michelle’s Wei’s example is used to explain ________.

A．why American teens are crazy about digital social life

B．what social networking websites are bringing to American teens

C．to what degree the Internet is affecting the American car culture

D．what the Internet does to help teens to get a driving license

4.The last paragraph is reminding the readers that        .

A．the Internet h as a bad effect on the teen’s social life

B．teens should keep a balance in choosing their lifestyle

C．actual contacts can be replaced by talking on line

D．face-to-face friendship is always the best choice