Question

Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact(互动)these days. The term is “networked individualism”. This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings. How can we be individuals(个体)and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.

Here is what Professor Wellman means. Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time.

A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to-person interaction. However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing. Why?

In the past, many people were worried that the internet isolated(孤立)us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer. But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true. The Internet connects us with more real people than expected—helpful people who can give advice on careers, medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.

Thanks to the computer, we are able to be alone an together with other people—at the same time!

1.The underlined phrase “networked individualism” probably means that by using computers people       .

A．stick to their own ways no matter what other people say

B．have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest

C．do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people

D．are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people

2.According to the Pew study, what do many people rely on to make major life decisions?

A．Networks.

B．Friends.

C．Phones.

D．Parents.

3.It can be inferred from the Pew study that         .

A．people have been separated from each other by using computers

B．the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely

C．the Internet has become a new tool for a new kind of social communication

D．a lot of people regard the person-to-person communication as a good thing

4.Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．We’re Alone on the Internet

B．We’re Communicating on the Internet

C．We’re Alone Together on the Internet

D．We’re in the Imaginary World of the Internet.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：

1.D 推理题。根据文章最后一段Thanks to the computer, we are able to be alone an together with other people—at the same time!说明使用计算机也能让我们与很多人进行交流。而不一定只是产生不好的影响，故D正确。

2.A 细节题。根据文章第四段最后两行About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.说明很多人借助网络来做出很多的决定。故A正确。

3.C 推理题。根据第四段3,4行The Internet connects us with more real people than expected—helpful people who can give advice on careers, medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college.说明因特网已经成为人们一种新的交流工具了。故C正确。

4.C 主旨大意题。文章主要讲述的就是现代社会山很多人都运用因特网进行交流已经各种各样的社交活动。故C正确。

考点：考查文化类短文阅读