“Life is speeding up．Everyone is getting unwell．’’

This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact，an unknown person who lived in Rome in 53AD（公元）wrote it．

    We all love new inventions．They are exciting，amazing and can even change our lives．

But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

Picture this．You're rushing to finish your homework on the computer．Your mobile phone rings，a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen，the noise from the television is getting louder and louder．Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work．Now you have to stay up all night to get it done．How happy do you feel?

    Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed（有压力的）and tired．Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities，who have no telephones，no car，not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simple lives．

    One family in the UK went ” back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today．The grandparents，with their daughter，and grandsons Benjamin，10 and Thomas，7，spent nine weeks in a 1940s house．They had no washing machine，microwave，computer or mobile phones．

    The grandmother, Lyn，said，“The more things you have，the more difficult life becomes．”The boy said they fought less．Probably, they said，because there was less to fight over such as their computer．Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a” trendy（新潮人物），beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things”．

1．The writer uses the quote（引用）at the beginning of the story to                    ．

A．tell us a truth about our life

B．tell us what life was like long time ago

C．point out what causes such a thing to happen

D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same

2．In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions                 ．

A．have speeded up our lives

B．have improved the quality of our lives

C．may make people feel very happy

D．may bring people some trouble

3．The family chose to spend some time in a l 940s house because                 ．

A．they loved to live simple lives

B．they wanted to know how people lived without modem inventions

C．they were troubled by modem inventions

D．1iving in a different time would be a lot of fun for them

4．According to the passage，which is NOT right? 

A．People who live far away from noise often seem to be happier．

B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better．

C．The family had some changes when they lived in a l 940s house

D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired．

5．The passage is mainly about                  ．

A．problems with technology

B．improvements of our lives with technology

C．changes happening to technology

D．the importance of technology

Important tips for better flash（闪光灯、闪光）photos

Don't stand too far back from your subject．The flash on most cameras will not cover any subject well over three meters away．Even in non-flash photos many photographers stand too far away from their subjects．As a result，the subjects are small with great areas of unimportant background．

Watch the background carefully and be sure there are no mirrors or shiny things to reflect（反射）the flash back to the camera lens（透镜）．

When taking pictures of people，ask them not to look into the lens but at a point over your shoulder，because it is very possible that the flash will reflect from their eyes and there will be red eyes in the photo．

Try to give the subjects an interesting background．If there is nothing for two meters behind the subject，the background will come out black or very dark．Of course，you don't want an untidy background，because it will take people's attention away from your subject．

If taking a picture of a baby，be sure the room is as light as possible so that the flash does not hurt his／her eyes．

1．To avoid red eyes in the photo，the best place people should look at is               ．

A．the sun in the sky

B．the mirror behind the photographer

C．the lens of the camera

D．a point over the photographer’s shoulder

2．Which of the following is the right way to take a flash picture of a baby in a room?

A．Making the room as light as possible．

B．Having the baby sit in front of a mirror．

C．Helping the baby look at the camera lens．

D．Keeping the baby five meters away from the camera．

3．When taking flash pictures，we should be sure that              ．

A．there is nothing shiny in the background

B．there are interesting things in front of the subjects

C．there are as many beautiful things as possible in the background

D．there are great areas of black or dark background

Every morning, the newspaper chief editor（主编） holds a meeting with the reporters. They discuss the main events（事件） of the day. Reporters are then sent to cover the events.　　
As soon as the reporters know what to write about, they get down to work. They telephone people and fix a time for a face-to-face interview with them. Sometimes they do telephone interviews. Checking information is very important. They go to the newspaper's own library to look up any information that they need. This is called “doing one's homework”.
At the same time, the picture editor decides which photographs will be used for the next day's paper. All the people who work on a newspaper must be able to work fast. Reporters have to stop working on one story and start working at once on the important new one. They must find out the new information as quickly as possible. Later in the day, everything is put together at the news desk. Reporters return, type their stories into the computer and hand them to the editor.　　
The chief editor decides which will be the most important story on the front page. Sometimes this will have to be changed if something more important happens late in the day. Other editors read the stories which the reporters have written and make any necessary changes.　　
Finally, there is no more time left for adding new stories, and the time for printing（印刷） the newspaper has come. This is done on fast-moving printing machines. The newspapers are then delivered（发送） by truck, plane or rail. Speed is important. People want to buy the latest newspaper; nobody wants to buy yesterday's.　　
【小题1】What is the work in a newspaper office like?　

Every morning, the newspaper chief editor（主编） holds a meeting with the reporters. They discuss the main events（事件） of the day. Reporters are then sent to cover the events.　　

As soon as the reporters know what to write about, they get down to work. They telephone people and fix a time for a face-to-face interview with them. Sometimes they do telephone interviews. Checking information is very important. They go to the newspaper's own library to look up any information that they need. This is called “doing one's homework”.

At the same time, the picture editor decides which photographs will be used for the next day's paper. All the people who work on a newspaper must be able to work fast. Reporters have to stop working on one story and start working at once on the important new one. They must find out the new information as quickly as possible. Later in the day, everything is put together at the news desk. Reporters return, type their stories into the computer and hand them to the editor.　　

The chief editor decides which will be the most important story on the front page. Sometimes this will have to be changed if something more important happens late in the day. Other editors read the stories which the reporters have written and make any necessary changes.　　

Finally, there is no more time left for adding new stories, and the time for printing（印刷） the newspaper has come. This is done on fast-moving printing machines. The newspapers are then delivered（发送） by truck, plane or rail. Speed is important. People want to buy the latest newspaper; nobody wants to buy yesterday's.　　

1.What is the work in a newspaper office like?　

A. Interesting and confusing B. Important and patient.　　

C. Particular and necessary. D. Fast and busy.

2.According to the passage, the right order for a reporter's work is ____________.　　

a. writing stories         b. doing interviews  c. joining in a discussion   

d. doing homework       e. handing stories to the editor

A. c-b-a-d-e     B. c-d-e-a-b     C. c-b-d-a-e     D. c-a-d-b-e

3.The front page contents（内容） are decided by ___________.

A. the importance of the events

B. how well the stories are written　　

C. the knowledge of the chief editor

D. whether they are the latest　　

4.Word editors' work is to ____________.

A. help the chief editor with the morning discussion　　

B. decide when and how the papers can be printed　　

C. read the stories and make necessary changes　　

D. get together information from reporters and photographers

5.The best title for this passage is “____________”。　　

A. How a newspaper is produced     B. How newspapers are delivered　　

C. What kind of papers readers like   D. Whose work is more important