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 overusing technology
Looking back on the first twenty years of my life, I feel grateful to have been so healthy and happy. For my happiness, I am grateful to so many people and lucky events, but what have guided me and supported me in my life are my physical health, healthy finances, and my family’s happiness.
Health comes first for me, because without health everything else is meaningless. Imagine starting a career without good health. Imagine starting a family without good health. Imagine achieving anything without good health. Clearly, good health is the first necessary for other part of one’s life.
Good health is not enough to be happy. We still need to have money in today’s society. Money obviously pays for basic needs of life — food, housing, clothing — but it is also necessary for other reason like the quality of our education and medical care.
Next comes the most important thing in having a happy life — our family. It provides the love, joy and support that everybody needs. I love my family with all my heart. I get pleasure from their pleasure. I suffer when they suffer. My family helped me get through the hard times of entrance exams. They comforted and advised me when I had misunderstanding with my friends. More importantly, they have been there to share in my successes in the past twenty years. In summary, all these are what I need and want in this world. As long as I stay healthy, earn enough money, and share both good times and bad times with my family, I will always be the happiest girl in the world.
1.The writer mentions her entrance exams to prove that _______.
A. opportunities go to those with strong beliefs
B. our quality of life can be improved with money
C. nothing can be achieved without a healthy body
D. family provides the support that everybody needs
2.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To argue about the importance of money.
B. To explain what are the keys to happiness.
C. To discuss ways of dealing with difficulties.
D. To show people’s different attitudes to happiness.
3.How is the passage organized?
A. Introduction—Explanation—Summary
B. Examples—Argument—Summary
C. Argument—Topic—Conclusion
D. Topic—Examples—Conclusion
The concept of solitude(独处) in the digital world is almost non-existent. In the world of digital technology, e-mail, social networking and online video games, information is meant to be ______. Solitude can be hard to discover once it has been given up. In this respect, new technologies have ______ our culture.
The desire to be connected has brought solitude to a(n) ______ as we’ve known it. People have become so ______ in the world of networks and connections that one can often be contacted even if they’d rather not be. Today we can talk, text, e-mail, chat and blog, not only from our______, but from our mobile phones as well.
Most developed nations have become ______ on digital technology simply because they’ve grown accustomed to it, and at this point not ______ it would make them an outsider. ______, many jobs and careers require people to be ______. From this point of view, technology has changed the culture of work. Being reachable might feel like a ______ to those who may not want to be able to be contacted at all times. I suppose the positive side is that solitude is still possible for anyone who really wants it. Computers can be ______ and mobile phones can be turned off. The ability to be “connected” and “on” has many ______. Travelers have ended up ______ on mountains, and mobile phones have saved countless lives. However, they can also make people feel ______ and forced to answer unwanted calls or turn to unwanted texts.
Attitudes towards our connectedness as a society ______ across generations. Some find today’s technology a gift. Others consider it a curse. Regardless of anyone’s view on the subject, it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without daily advancements in technology.
1.A. updated B. received C. shared D. collected
2.A. expanded B. shaped C. retained D. promoted
3.A. mission B. orbit C. end D. desire
4.A. powerful B. intelligent C. concerned D. reachable
5.A. media B. computers C. headsets D. monitors
6.A. tough B. hard C. keen D. dependent
7.A. finding B. using C. attending D. consuming
8.A. Also B. Instead C. Otherwise D. Somehow
9.A. connected B. trained C. recommended D. interested
10.A. pleasure B. benefit C. burden D. disappointment
11.A. put off B. shut down C. taken over D. set up
12.A. aspects B. weaknesses C. advantages D. exceptions
13.A. packed B. lost C. survived D. floated
14.A. trapped B. attempted C. confused D. committed
15.A. vary B. arise C. spread D. exist
Keep Your Eyes Open for Weight Loss Ads
“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”
“Two full inches in the first three days!”
These are the kinds of statements 1. (use) in magazine, newspaper, radio and television ads, 2. (promise) new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they 3. shape the legs, slim the face and smooth wrinkles. Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable, and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, 4. is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug, FDA(Food and Drug Administration) can require proof that it is safe and effective before it 5.(put) on the market. But if the product is a device, FDA has no authority 6. (require) premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness. 7. a product already on the market is a danger to health, FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily, or it can take legal action, including seizure(查封) of the product.
One notable case a few years ago 8.(involve) an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, 9. had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds 10. it was dangerous to health and life.
如今在家工作已经成为越来越多的人选择的工作模式．假如你是李华，最近你们班同学就 "Is it good to work at home？" 进行了激烈的辩论．请根据表格所给提示写一篇短文，介绍此次辩论情况并发表自己的看法．然后发表在你校英语论坛上．
赞同（58%） | 反对（42%） | 你的观点 |
1.1．省去很多时间和费用； 2.2．可以创造自己喜欢的工作环境； 3.3．可以更好的平衡工作和家庭生活． | 1.1．远离同事，会感到孤独，减少交朋友 2． 的机会； 3.2．家人在家，会受到打扰． |
？ |
注意：1． 词数100左右；
2． 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯．
参考词汇： 平衡： balance vt． 同事： colleague cn． 打扰： interrupt vt．
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单词拼写-单句
1.----How many countries c______ in the ancient Olympic Games？
---- Only one， Greece．
2.The old castle is so valuable that it is worth______ （装修）．
3.John is a doctor， so he is an______（受过教育的）person．
4.What are your teachers'______ （态度） towards students bringing mobile phones to school？
5.The dark， rainy evening and the thundering clouds held me______ （整个地）in their power．
6.I am to see the person______（主管） the project as soon as possible．
7.The old man saw the little boy______ （拆开） the toy when he entered the room．
8.The Czar sent a troop of his best soldiers to Frederick William______（作为对……的回报） Prussia giving the amber room to him．
9.The movie which______（以……为根据） a novel written by Mo Yan is being shown all over China．
