Google “information overload” and you are immediately overloaded with information: more than 7m hits in 0.05 seconds. Some of this information is interesting: for example, the phrase “information overload” was popularised by Alvin Toffler in 1970. Some of it is mere noise: obscure companies promoting their services and even more obscure bloggers sounding off. The overall impression is at once overwhelming and confusing.
“Information overload” is one of the biggest irritations in modern life. There are e-mails to answer, YouTube videos to watch and, back in the physical world, meetings to attend and papers to shuffle(翻动). A survey by Reuters once found that two-thirds of managers believe that the data deluge(泛滥) had made their jobs less satisfying or hurt their personal relationships. One-third thought that it had damaged their health. Another survey suggests that most managers think most of the information they receive is useless.
Some researchers raise three big worries. First, information overload can make people feel anxious and powerless: scientists have discovered that multitaskers produce more stress hormones. Second, overload can discourage creativity. Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School has spent more than a decade studying the work habits of 238 people. She finds that focus and creativity are connected. People are more likely to be creative if they are allowed to focus on something for some time without interruptions. If constantly interrupted or forced to attend meetings, they are less likely to be creative. Third, overload can also make workers less productive. David Meyer of the University of Michigan has shown that people who complete certain tasks in parallel take much longer and make many more errors than people who complete the same tasks in sequence.
What can be done about information overload? One answer is technological: rely on the people who created the fog to invent filters(过滤器) that will clean it up. Xerox promises to restore “information purity” by developing better filtering and managing devices. A second answer involves willpower. Turn off your mobile phone and WiFi from time to time.
Most companies are better at giving employees access to the information superhighway than at teaching them how to drive. This is starting to change. Management consultants have spotted an opportunity. Derek Dean and Caroline Webb of McKinsey urge businesses to apply three principles to deal with data overload: find time to focus, filter out noise and forget about work when you can. Business leaders are chipping in. David Novak of Yum! Brands urges people to ask themselves whether what they are doing is constructive or a mere “activity”. Cristobal Conde of SunGard, an IT firm, preserves “thinking time” in his schedule when he cannot be disturbed. This might sound like common sense. But common sense is rare amid the cacophony(不和谐的声音) of corporate life.
1.According to the survey conducted by Reuters, most managers believe ______.
A.the data deluge does harm to their health.
B.most information they receive is of great use.
C.information overload destroys their personal relationship.
D.their jobs are satisfying thanks to the rich information on the Internet.
2.Which of the following is NOT a damaging effect of information overload?
A.Making people unproductive. B.Causing people to lack creativity.
C.Arousing people’s negative feelings. D.Leaving people bad at multitasking.
3.The technological way to deal with information overload is to ______.
A.improve the technique for filtering data B.limit the uploading of information
C.provide limited access to the Internet D.develop better search engines
4.Which of the following action may Derek Dean and Caroline Webb approve of?
A.Listening to music while working. B.Finishing several tasks at the same time.
C.Taking your mind off work occasionally. D.Avoiding using your common sense in your work.
California’s attack on second-hand smoke reached its historic high this New Year, when even indoor areas in bars and casinos became smoke-free by force of law. The rules on smoke exposure have taken a 180-degree turn in less than a generation. In the United States of my youth, every citizen was hostage(人质)to other people’s cigarettes in airplanes, in offices and in almost every other public place. Now the indoor areas of public life are all nonsmoking zones — an inconvenience for the 25% of adults who smoke, but a benefit of large proportions to the breathing system of the 75% who do not.
In the cold and flu, the greatest risk of appearing in public is not tobacco smoke, but rather contagious(接触传染的)disease. And strangers who would not dream of blowing smoke in your face seem happy enough about coughing and sneezing whenever they see you coming.
Isn’t there a double standard here, when the same folks prohibited from smoking in my office building can sneeze me home for a week of hell with the ruling bacterium of the season? Why don’t the contagious among us stay home or wear those cut little paper nose and mouth covers or at least feel bad about putting the rest of us at risk of sharing their misery?
Could it be that the similarity passing a law that requires germ-free public spaces. But two smaller lessons do come from the contrasting treatment of germs and cigarettes. The first lesson is that what we accept in public is much more a matter of particular social expectation than scientific studies. The French read scientific journals just as diligently as do Americans, yet the average French cafe contains more smoke than a forest fire. You are more likely to encounter a face full of tobacco smoke if you go to Japan this year than you would in Los Aneles. But you will also notice hundreds of people on the subway in Japan who wear paper mask to avoid spreading contagious disease that they carry. Which culture is more considerate depends on the particular subject of the inquiry. The standard for what is polite in public varies tremendously from one social setting to another.
1.The first paragraph tells us ________.
A.the rules on smoke exposure have become less strict
B.in the past people exposed to other people’s cigarettes complained a lot
C.in California, smoke-free zones in public places have existed for a long time
D.most people can benefit from banning indoor smoking in public places
2.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.People think coughing and sneezing are less harmful than smoking in public.
B.Sick people should live alone and stay home wearing paper masks all winter.
C.Strangers will feel bad when they cough and sneeze in front of other people.
D.Those with contagious diseases feel bad sharing their misery with others.
3.The tone of the passage is best described as ______.
A.encouraging B.worrying
C.carefree D.suspicious
4.What does the author want to express in this passage?
A.Learn from Japan. B.Don’t smoke indoors.
C.Pay attention to environmental germs. D.Stay home all winter.
The Docklands Light Railway(DLR) took just three years to build at a cost of ￡77 million. It is London’s first Light Rail System, but its route follows that of a number of older lines, which carried the nineteenth century railways through the crowded districts of the East End.
The section of the line from the Tower Gateway Station to Poplar follows the line of one of London’s earliest railways, the London & Blackwell(1840), a cable-drawn railway(later converted to steam) which carried passengers to steam ships at Blackwell Pier, and provided transport for the messengers and clerks who went backwards and forwards between the docks and the city every day.
From Poplar to Island Gardens, a new line crosses high above the dock waters, and then joins the old track of the Millwall Extension Railway, built to service the Millwall Docks(1868) and to provide transport for workers in the local factories. This line was horse-drawn for part of its route, until the 1880s.
The Poplar to Stratford section of the DLR route was first developed by the North London Railway, built in the 1850s to link the West and East India Docks with the manufacturing districts of the Midlands and North of England. There were major railway works and sidings(岔线) at Bow until recently.
The trains are automatically controlled from a central computer, which deals with all signaling and other safety factors, as well as adjusting speeds to keep within the timetable; on board each vehicle, Train Captains, who are also fully qualified drivers, are equipped with two-way radios to maintain contact with central control. There are passenger lifts, and self-service ticket machines, at every station.
1.The history of the railway tells us that the DLR ______.
A.was begun in the nineteen century
B.follows some of the original line
C.will be finished in three years’ time
D.took three years longer than expected to complete
2.It appears that the Poplar to Stratford section of the DLR route was originally developed to ____.
A.make the transport of goods easier B.encourage trade abroad
C.promote the transport in England D.create employment at home
3.The trains on the DLR are controlled by ______.
A.drivers on the trains themselves B.two-way radios operated by the drivers
C.a computer on board the train D.a computer based elsewhere
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。请根据以下四幅图的先后顺序,为校刊“英语园地” 写一篇短文,讲述上周你校高三年级举行趣味运动会的过程。
注意：词数不少于60。
提示词:趣味运动会fun sports meeting 二人三足 three-legged race
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假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。你的英国好友Jim在你的视频博客（Vlog）上看到你做中餐的视频，很感兴趣并表示也想学做中国美食，发来邮件询问。请你给他回复邮件，内容包括：
1. 推荐一道中国菜或饭；
2. 推荐理由。
注意：1 .词数不少于50；
2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
The Buy Nothing Movement
Social media, magazines and shop windows bombard（猛轰）people daily with things to buy, and British consumers are buying more clothes than ever before. The average person spends more than £ 1,000 on new clothes a year, which might not sound like much. 1. A lot of consumer spending is by means of credit cards. British people currently owe about £670 per adult to credit card companies. Also, people are spending money they haven't earned to buy things they don't need. Britain throws away 300,000 tons of clothing a year, most of which goes into landfill（垃圾填 埋地）sites.
2.But charity shops can't sell all those unwanted clothes. A lot of clothes that charities can't sell are sent abroad, causing even more economic and environmental problems.
3.The idea originated in Canada in the early 1990s and then moved to the US. On Buy Nothing Day people organise various types of protests and cut up their credit cards. Throughout the year, Buy Nothing groups organise the exchange and repair of items they already own.
The trend has now reached influencers on social media who now encourage their viewers not to buy anything at all for periods as long as a year. Two friends in Canada spent a year working towards buying only food. For the first three months they learned how to live without buying electrical goods, clothes or things for the house. For the next stage, they gave up services, for example, haircuts, eating out or buying petrol for their cars. 4.
The changes they made meant two fewer cars on the roads, a reduction in plastic and paper packaging and a positive impact on the environment from all the energy saved. 5.But even if you can't manage a full year without going shopping, you can participate in the anti-consumerist movement by refusing to buy things you don't need.
A.In one year, they'd saved $55,000.
B.If everyone followed a similar plan, the results would be impressive.
C.Online shopping means it is easy for customers to buy without thinking.
D.Second-hand clothes are often of too poor quality to recycle in charity shops.
E.But that figure hides two far more worrying trends for society and for the environment
F.However, a different trend arises in opposition to consumerism—the ' buy nothing' trend.
G.People might not realise the problems because they donate their unwanted clothes to charities.
