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. advantage B. attraction
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. Sceptical.
C. Disapproving. D. Sympathetic.
One morning when I was 11, I explored the town’s abandoned round grain barn（谷仓）. I found a chained sliding door that was wide enough for me to pass through.
Inside, there was a heavy smell of dead mice in the dark. After my eyes adjusted, I noticed a shaft (升降机井) that rose all the way to the top of the barn. On one side was a one-man elevator with a long rope and roller.
I stepped onto the platform and gave the rope a drag and the elevator began sliding up the shaft, but stopped halfway. After a brief panic attack, I noticed holes in the wall at regular intervals, forming a ladder. For reasons known only to an 11-year-old, I decided it would be better to go up than down. So, with shaking hands, I began climbing the wall.
After what seemed like forever, I reached the top of the shaft. I stood up, dusted myself off and found…absolutely nothing of interest. It was just an empty room with a ladder leading up to the roof. I climbed all the way up here for this? Then I noticed a fire extinguisher（灭火器）,which I’d always wanted to shoot off. So this was the chance of a lifetime. I tried it, and, much to my surprise, the thing worked! It shot out a thick cloud of powder that instantly filled the room. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to choke to death, and they’d probably never even find my body.
Luckily, I remembered the ladder to the roof. I climbed up, popped the straw roof and saw a bright blue sky.
I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw attention. So when the dust had settled, I climbed down and slipped out of the chained door. I’m not sure if I was more excited about being alive or about not being caught, but I ran all the way back home.
1.When the author got inside the barn, he _______.
A. noticed a man on the elevator
B. opened the chained sliding door
C. saw many dead mice in the dark
D. found a shaft leading to the top
2.Which of the following is the right order of the author’s adventure?
a. The elevator stopped halfway.
b. He entered the round grain barn.
c. He climbed to the top of the shaft.
d. He found a fire extinguisher and shot it off.
A. b-a-d-c B. a-c-b-d
C. c-a-d-b D. b-a-c-d
3.After getting out of the chained door, the author might feel _______.
A. inspired B. relieved
C. surprised D. disappointed
4.From the passage, we can learn that the author was probably a boy full of _______.
A. passions B. dreams
C. curiosity D. imagination
You had better learn to be grateful. If you are grateful, you naturally yourself up to receive all kinds of blessings and good things in life. You can receive almost everything you want . If you want recovery soon, start by feeling grateful that you are still . If it is more money that you want, start being grateful for whatever of money you already have.
You see, showing gratitude(感恩) is the key to every thing in life. It is the key to successful relationships, it is the key to successful futures and it is the key to healthier and happier lives. And this is where the importance of being grateful lies. , it makes life better.
One of my favorite is “If you learn to appreciate more of what you already have, you will find yourself having more to appreciate.” Think about that!
Something as as a “Thank you for being in my life” or “I having you here with me”, can go a long way. It will make the other person feel good, and it also will make you feel better!
So maybe your wife is not very around the house, but she’s great at cooking your favorite . Or, maybe your child milk all over your new shirt right before you walked out the door for work, but usually he makes you laugh so much and makes you the luckiest parent in the world.
I strongly you to make a promise to yourself for the next week. Decide to every morning and think of at least 5 things that you are for. Then say them out loud. You will notice a smile on your face without even . In 30 days you will feel completely renewed. This is the of being grateful!
1.A. open B. make C. stand D. take
2.A. easily B. correctly C. truly D. clearly
3.A. lovely B. alive C. lively D. living
4.A. amount B. number C. kind D. plenty
5.A. terrible B. negative C. positive D. confusing
6.A. leading B. taking C. enjoying D. looking
7.A. Therefore B. Besides C. Anyway D. In a word
8.A. mottos B. rules C. habits D. word
9.A. pleasant B. wonderful C. short D. moving
10.A. want B. look forward to C. appreciate D. would like
11.A. for sure B. in general C. instead of D. in addition
12.A. lazy B. beautiful C. careless D. organized
13.A. vegetables B. dishes C. beef D. drinks
14.A. painted B. stopped C. spilled D. threw
15.A. become of B. feel like C. act as D. look like
16.A. persuade B. advise C. demand D. suggest
17.A. dress up B. make up C. get up D. wake up
18.A. grateful B. concerned C. anxious D. upset
19.A. pretending B. looking C. trying D. smiling
20.A. disadvantage B. power C. award D. consequences
–These oranges are only a dollar eighty-nine a pound.
--Well, they are _____than the others, but they don’t look _______good.
A. prettier; very B. cheaper; as
C. better; to D. more expensive; so
The information on the Internet gets around much more rapidly than_______in the newspaper.
A. it B. those C. one D. that
Throughout _______history, man has had to accept ____fact that all living things must die.
A. the; the B. a; a C. /; the D. /; /
