The concept of solitude(独处) in the digital world is almost non-existent. In the world of digital technology, e-mail, social networking and online video games, information is meant to be ______. Solitude can be hard to discover ______it has been given up. In this respect, new technologies have ______our culture.

The desire to be connected has brought solitude to a(n)       as we've known it. People have become so      in the world of networks and connections that one can often be contacted      they'd rather not be. Today we can talk, text, e-mail, chat and blog (写博客), not only from our     , but from our mobile phones as well.

     Most developed nations have become       on digital technology simply because they've grown accustomed to it, and at this point not       it would make them an outsider.     , many jobs and careers require people to be      . From this point of view, technology has changed the culture of work. Being reachable might feel like a       to those who may not want to be able to be contacted at all times.

     I suppose the positive side is that solitude is still possible for anyone who       wants it. Computers can be shut       and mobile phones can be turned off. The ability to be "connected" and " on" has many     , as well as disadvantages. Travelers have ended up       on mountains, and mobile phones have saved countless lives. They can also make people feel       and forced to answer unwanted calls or     to unwanted texts.

     Attitudes towards our connectedness as a society       across generations. Some find today's technology a gift. Others consider it a curse. Regardless of anyone's view on the subject, it's hard to imagine what life would be like       daily advancements in technology.

1.A. updated    B. received       C. collected       D. shared

2.A. though      B. once            C. until    D. before

3.A. shaped       B. respected     C. ignored         D. preserved

4.A. edge          B. end      C. stage     D. balance

5.A. sensitive    B. intelligent      C. reachable     D. considerate

6.A. only if         B. even if         C. as if      D. if only

7.A. media        B. databases            C. monitors        D. computers

8.A. bent  B. dependent          C. hard     D. keen

9.A. finding     B. protecting     C. using    D. changing

10.A. Instead  B. Otherwise    C. Somehow      D. Also

11.A. trained    B. recommended     C. connected    D. interested

12.A. burden            B. pleasure       C. benefit D. disappointment

13.A. slightly     B. hardly         C. merely         D. really  　

14.A. down        B. out       C. up         D. in

15.A. aspects    B. weaknesses  C. exceptions    D. advantages 

16.A. lost  B. hidden          C. relaxed D. deserted

17.A. excited   B. confused       C. trapped        D. amused

18.A. turn B. reply     C. submit  D. object

19.A. arise       B. spread  C. vary      D. exist

20.A. without    B. beyond         C. within   D. despite 

This is time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.
Littleton Children’s Home
We don’t want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes in good condition would be very welcome.
Also—we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much—will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671.
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts of money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need story books and toys suitable for quiet games.
Please contact The Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.w.^w.k.s.5*u.c.#o@m
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you find a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we urgently need some new saucepans. Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way, Littleton. Phone 27713.
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair?—a record player?—a pot of paint?
Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.
【小题1】Reading the passage, you might like to help these organizations which work for     

I love charity shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won’t find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.

The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity’s appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations(捐赠物). They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children’s books, all 10 or 20 pence each.

Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don’t encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.

The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding（资助）medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment.

The author loves the charity shop mainly because of _______.

   A. its convenient location

   B. its great variety of goods

   C. its spirit of goodwill

   D. its nice shopping environment

The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ____.

   A. sell cheap products

   B. deal with unwanted things

   C. raise money for patients

   D. help a foreign country

Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?

   A. The operating costs are very low.

   B. The staff are usually well paid.

   C. 90% of the donations are second-hand.

   D. They are open twenty-four hours a day.

Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

   A. What to Buy a Charity Shops.

   B. Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development.

   C. Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate.

   D. The Public’s Concern about Charity Shops.

  Moods (心情), say the experts, are feelings that are likely to become fixed, having effects on one’s outlook(way of looking at things) for hours, days or even weeks. That’s great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry, or simply lonely.

  Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Scientists offers a lot of tranquilizers(镇静剂) and anti-anxiety drugs. What many people don’t realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non-drug methods to make you free from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous(无毒的). So next time you feel out of sorts, don’t head for the drug store―try the following method.

  Of all the mood-changing self-help techniques, aerobic exercises (有氧运动) seem to be the best cure for a bad mood. “If you could keep the exercise, you’d be in high spirits,” says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty.

  Researchers have explained biochemical and various other changes that make exercises compare favorably to drugs as a mood-raiser. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercises – running, cycling, walking, swimming, or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate and circulation(循环), and improve the body’s use of oxygen. Do them for at least 20 minutes a time, three to five times a week.

It can be inferred from the passage that __________.

 A. when one is in a bad mood, he or she must not work very well.

 B. the best way to overcome a bad mood is to talk to oneself

 C. some drugs are more effective than physical exercises

 D. taking drugs is at risk of being poisonous

The phrase "feel out of sorts", as is used in the second paragraph, could be best replaced by ____________.

   A. put things in order                               B. are in a bad mood    

   C. search for tranquilizers                             D. want a mood-raiser

Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?

 A. An exercise and its importance are explained     

 B. A problem is examined and solutions are given

 C. Two different views of a problem are presented   

 D. Recent developments in medicine are described

Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public. Britain is hostile to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy. As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood.” Jealousy is sometimes known as the “green – eyed monster” and the UK is its home.
Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money. Some were given a little, others a great deal. Those given a little were given the chance to destroy the large amount of money given to others – but at the cost of losing their own. Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this.
This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain. But there is also conflicting evidence. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that the UK is now the world’s fourth largest economy. That is not bad for people who are supposed to hate success. People in the UK also work longer hours than anyone else in Europe. So the British people are not lazy, either.
“It is not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots.”
Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. They set out to do things in their way. They work long hours. By their own efforts they become millionaires. But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. It hardly seems worth following their example. If they were more friendly, people would like them more. And more people want to be like them.
【小题1】Most entrepreneurs surveyed believe that        .