Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality.
People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological（病态的）relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.
1.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. attraction B.advantage
C. adaption D. attempt
2.From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.
A. attract people to buy their products
B. provide the latest information
C. improve people’s quality of life
D. deal with cultural diseases
3.It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.
A. consider too much technology wonderful
B. have realized the harm of high-tech devices
C. can regain freedom without high-tech devices
D. may enjoy life better without overused technology
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
A. Neutral B. Skeptical
C. Disapproving D. Sympathetic
Does everyone want a challenging job? In spite of all the attention focused by the media, academicians, and social scientists on human potential and the needs of individuals, there is no evidence to support that the vast majority of workers want challenging jobs. Some individuals prefer highly complex and challenging jobs; others develop in simple, routine work.
The individual-difference variable（变量）that seems to gain the greatest support for explaining who prefers a challenging job and who doesn’t is the strength of an individual’s needs for personal growth and self-direction at work. Individuals with these higher-order growth needs are more responsive for challenging work. What percentage of ordinary workers actually desire higher-order need satisfactions and will respond positively to challenging jobs? No current data is available, but a study from the 1970s estimated the figure at about 15%. Even after adjusting for changing work attitudes and the growth in white-collar jobs, it seems unlikely that the number today exceeds 40%.
The strongest voice advocating challenging jobs has not been workers—it’s been professors, social science researchers, and media people. Professors, researchers, and journalists undoubtedly made their career choices, to some degree, because they wanted jobs that gave them autonomy, recognition and challenge. That, of course, is their choice. But for them, to force their needs onto the workforce in general is presumptuous (冒失的).
Not every employee is looking for a challenging job. Many workers meet their higher-order need off the job. There are 168 hours in every individual’s week. Work rarely consumes more than 30% of this time. That leaves considerable opportunities, even for individuals with strong growth needs, to find higher-order need satisfaction outside the workplace. So don’t feel you have a responsibility to create challenging jobs for all your employees. For many people, work is something that will never excite or challenge them. And they don’t expect to find their growth opportunities at work. Work is merely something they have to do to pay their bills. They can find challenges outside of work on the golf course, fishing, at their local pub, with their friends in social clubs, with their family, and the like.
1.What makes people choose challenging jobs?
A. Positive responses. B. Work attitudes.
C. Higher-order growth needs. D. Personal self-direction.
2.Who is the least likely to prefer a challenging job?
A. College professors. B. Construction workers.
C. Social researchers. D. Media journalists.
3.The passage is intended for _______.
A. job-hunters B. researchers
C. employers D. graduates
4.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Not Everyone Wants a Challenging Job
B. Complex Jobs Offer Growth Opportunities
C. Employers Should Create Challenging Jobs
D. Challenging Jobs Give a Sense of Recognition
Whether we should allow marine (海洋的) parks to stay open has been widely debated in our community recently. A variety of different arguments have been put forward about it.
Smith, a sociologist, argued that dolphin parks provide the only opportunity for much of the public to see marine mammals. As this argument goes, most Australians live in cities and never get to see these animals. Marine parks allow the average Australian to appreciate our marine wildlife. However, in fact, there are many places where they can be seen in the wild. Moreover, these places do not charge an overpriced entry fee — they are free.
Dr. Alison Lane, the director of the Cairns Marine Science Institute, insists that we need marine parks for scientific research. She argues that much of our knowledge of marine mammals comes from studies which were undertaken at marine parks. The knowledge which is obtained at marine parks can be useful for planning for the preservation of marine mammal species. However, Jones, a zoologist, explains that park research is only useful for understanding captive animals and is not useful for learning about animals in the wild. Their diets are different, they have significantly lower life lengths and they are more likely to have a disease. In addition, marine mammals in dolphin parks are trained and this means that their patterns of social behavior are changed.
The Marine Park Owners Association holds that marine parks attract a lot of foreign tourists. This position goes on to state that these tourists spend a lot of money, increasing our foreign exchange earnings and assisting our national balance of payments. However, foreign tourists would still come to Australia if the parks were closed down. Indeed, surveys of overseas tourists show that they come here for a variety of other reasons and not to visit places like Seaworld. Tourists come here to see our native wildlife in its natural environment and not to see it in cages and concrete pools. They can see animals in those conditions in their own countries.
In a word, perhaps an agreement cannot be reached now. However, a question does deserve our consideration: If we continue with our past crimes against these creatures, how will our future generations view us?
1.Who support(s) the idea of closing marine parks?
A. Most Australians. B. Jones.
C. Smith. D. Alison Lane.
2.Which is NOT the reason to keep marine parks?
A. For entertainment purpose.
B. For scientific research purpose.
C. For economic purpose.
D. For political purpose.
3.The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by________.
A. pointing out the problems with keeping the marine parks
B. using evidence he has collected at the marine parks
C. discussing the advantages of animals' natural homes
D. questioning the way the animals are studied
完型填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
There are many people who could be Olympic champions. It's easy to be great because great people will help you. I’d five million people could have me in the pole vault (撑杆跳) the years I won it, at five million. Men who were stronger and faster than I was could have done it, but they never a pole, never made the to pick their legs off the ground to try to get over the bar.
Greatness is all us. It’s easy to be great because great people will help you. What is fantastic about all the conventions I go to is the greatest in the business will come and share their ideas, their methods and their with everyone else. I have seen the greatest men open up and show young people exactly how they did it. They don’t .
I’ll never forget the time I was to break Dutch Warmer Dam’s record. I was about a foot his record, so I called him on the phone. I said, "Dutch, can you me? I seem to have leveled off. I can’t get any higher."
He said, “ , Bob, come to visit me and I’ll give you all I got.” I three days with the master, the greatest pole vaulter in the world. For three days, Dutch gave me that he’d seen. To make a long short, I went up eight inches. That great guy gave me the best that he had. I’ve found that sports champions and heroes do this just to help you become great, too.
Great people will share and will tell you their . Look for them, call them on the phone or buy their books. Go they are, get around them, and talk to them. It is to be great when you get around great people.
1.A. conclude B. estimate C. calculate D. appoint
2.A. beaten B. won C. struck D. competed
3.A. most B. first C. least D. length
4.A. turned up B. gathered up C. fixed up D. picked up
5.A. decision B. achievement C. effort D. demand
6.A. around B. above C. beyond D. between
7.A. where B. why C. that D. when
8.A. techniques B. equipment C. competence D. assessments
9.A. put back B. give back C. take back D. hold back
10.A. developing B. trying C. competing D. claiming
11.A. near B. behind C. above D. below
12.A. recognize B. follow C. help D. convey
13.A. Sure B. Right C. Certain D. Great
14.A. exchanged B. instructed C. performed D. spent
15.A. something B. everything C. anything D. nothing
16.A. event B. story C. adjustment D. statement
17.A. willingly B. intentionally C. deliberately D. religiously
18.A. ambitions B. commitments C. treasures D. secrets
19.A. how B. what C. where D. when
20.A. easy B. convenient C. hard D. comfortable
—Was ______ Bill, ______ played basketball very well, ______ helped the blind man cross the road?
—Yes, of course. He is always ready to help others.
A. it; who; thatB. this; who; that
C. which; that; thatD. it; that; who
______ in making for 4As in the academic proficiency test, which most classmates had not expected, made her parents very upset.
A. Niuniu was defeated
B. Niuniu being defeated
C. Niuniu’s been defeated
D. Niuniu’s being defeated
