For most thinkers since the Greek philosophers, it was self-evident that there is something called human nature, something that constitutes the essence of man. There were various views about what constitutes it, but there was agreement that such an essence exists—that is to say, that there is something by virtue of which man is man. Thus man was defined as a rational being, as a social animal, an animal that can make tools, or a symbol-making animal.
More recently, this traditional view has begun to be questioned. One reason for this change was the increasing emphasis given to the historical approach to man. An examination of the history of humanity suggested that man in our time is so different from man in previous times that it seemed unrealistic to assume that men in every age have had in common something that can be called “human nature.” The historical approach was reinforced, particularly in the United States, by studies in the field of cultural anthropology (人类学). The study of primitive peoples has discovered such a diversity of customs, values, feelings, and thoughts that many anthropologists arrived at the concept that man is born as a blank sheet of paper on which each culture writes its text. Another factor contributing to the tendency to deny the assumption of a fixed human nature was that the concept has so often been abused as a shield behind which the most inhuman acts are committed. In the name of human nature, for example, Aristotle and most thinkers up to the eighteenth century defended slavery. Or in order to prove the rationality and necessity of the capitalist form of society, scholars have tried to make a case for acquisitiveness, competitiveness, and selfishness as natural human characters. Popularly, one refers cynically to “human nature” in accepting the inevitability of such undesirable human behavior as greed, murder, cheating and lying.
Another reason for skepticism about the concept of human nature probably lies in the influence of evolutionary thinking. Once man came to be seen as developing in the process of evolution, the idea of a substance which is contained in his essence seemed untenable(站不住脚). Yet I believe it is precisely from an evolutionary standpoint that we can expect new insight into the problem of the nature of man.
1. Most philosophers believed that human nature ________.| A．is the quality distinguishing man from other animals |
| B．consists of competitiveness and selfishness |
| C．is something partly innate and partly acquired |
| D．consists of rationality and undesirable behavior |
| A．the emergence of the evolutionary theory |
| B．the historical approach to man |
| C．new insight into human behavior |
| D．the philosophical analysis of slavery |
| A．emphasize that he contributed a lot to defining the concept of “human nature” |
| B．show that the concept of “human nature” was used to justify social evils |
| C．prove that he had a profound influence on the concept of “human nature” |
| D．support the idea that some human characters are inherited |
| A．have some characters in common |
| B．are born with diverse cultures |
| C．are born without a fixed nature |
| D．change their characters as they grow up |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Learning a foreign language can broaden career opportunities in the USA. Here’s the reason why learning some of the popular foreign languages can help you.
Chinese
Chinese is considered as an important language to enhance business prospects across the globe. It has the largest number of speakers. More than 1. 4 billion people speak Chinese. Chinese companies have invested in various industries in other countries. There are great opportunities for employment in Chinese companies if you can master Chinese.
Spanish
Spanish is spoken by about 580 million speakers across the world. It has the second largest number of speakers. Furthermore, many Spanish companies are rapidly increasing their presence in various industries like travel and tourism, translation, teaching, and international business.
Portuguese
Spoken by about 230 million people, Portuguese is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. It is the official language of eight countries. There’s a great demand for Portu-guese language experts in various industries.
German
German is the third most popular foreign language taught worldwide and the second most popular in Europe and Japan, after English. German has between 89 and 110 million native speakers. German companies account for 700,000 jobs in the USA, so learning German can give people great job offers.
1. Why does the author advise people to learn Chinese?| A．They can further study global business. |
| B．They can have an opportunity to go to China. |
| C．They can get more job offers in various countries. |
| D．They can find a chance to travel to other countries. |
| A．Chinese. | B．Spanish. |
| C．Portuguese. | D．German. |
| A．Japanese dislike learning it. |
| B．It is the most popular language in Europe. |
| C．It is spoken by less than 89 million people. |
| D．Mastering it helps people get more job opportunities. |
【推荐2】Internet security researchers say they have looked at and identified software weakness that puts millions of smart devices we use at risk of attacks and the Internet security weakness can be used to attack business or home computer networks. The report says many devices are designed for personal use and include the ability to control home cameras and temperature from a distance. Companies use similar devices in security systems, heating and cooling equipment, printers and servers.
There is no evidence that any attacks have already been carried out on the defenceless devices. However, the findings have led the officials to give a warning to the users and suggest to them that defensive measures should be taken to lessen the risks of attacks. Specifically, the officials say industrial control systems shouldn’t be accessible from the Internet and should be separated from company networks.
Awais Rashid is a computer scientist who has examined the findings. He says that the discovery shows the dangers experts often find in Internet-linked devices designed without much attention to security. He adds inattentive programming by developers appears to be the main issue in this case. Dealing with the problem is especially complex because the weaknesses are found in so-called open-source software, which is free to use and can be changed by anyone. According to Elisa, vice president of research, the fact that open-source software is not owned by anyone makes the problem difficult to solve but the problem should be tackled with an effort. This means it is up to device manufacturers to fix the weaknesses themselves and some may not have the time or money to do so.
Experts say the risks are even higher with so many people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This could permit attackers to hack into home networks and use this as a pathway into company networks.
1. What is the researchers’ attitude towards the Internet security weakness?| A．Tolerant. | B．Doubtful. | C．Concerned. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．By giving some advice to the Internet users. |
| B．By helping online users upgrade software. |
| C．By linking industrial control systems to company networks. |
| D．By warning Internet operators to lessen the risks of attacks. |
| A．Complex and impossible. |
| B．Challenging but necessary. |
| C．Effortless and worthwhile. |
| D．Potential but unimportant. |
| A．To advocate using defensive devices. |
| B．To urge us to stay away from the Internet. |
| C．To separate home networks from company networks. |
| D．To introduce the potential risk of smart devices. |
This was an age before telephones. Someone was delivering a message. When Coleridge got back to his poem, he had lost his inspiration. His poetic mood had been broken by the knock on his door. His unfinished poem, which could otherwise have been a masterpiece, would now never be more than a little piece.
This story tells how unexpected communication can destroy an important thought, which brings us to the cell phone.
The most common complaint about cell phones is that people talk on them to the annoyance of people around them. But more damaging may be the cell phone’s interruption of our thoughts.
We have already entered a golden age of little white lies about our cell phones, and this is by and large (大体上) a healthy, protective development. “I didn’t hear it ring” or “I didn’t realize my phone had shut off” are among the lies we tell to give ourselves space where we’re beyond reach.
The notion of being unreachable is not a new concept—we have “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doors of hotel rooms. So why must we feel guilty when it comes to cell phones? Why must we apologize if we decide to shut off the phone for a while?
Now time alone, or a conversation with someone next to us which cannot be interrupted by a phone, is something to be cherished. Even cell phone devotees（信徒）, myself usually included, can’t help at times wanting to throw their phones away, or curse(咒骂) the day they were invented.
But we don’t and won’t, and there really is no need. All that’s required to take back our private time is a general social recognition that we have the right to it. In other words, we have to develop a healthy contempt (轻视)for the rings of our own phones.
A cell phone call deserves no greater priority than a random word from the person next to us，though the call on my cell phone may be the one-in-a-million from Steven Spielberg—who has finally read my novel and wants to make it his next movie. But most likely it is not, and I’m better off thinking about the idea I just had for a new story, or the slice of pizza I’ll eat for lunch.
1. What is the point of the anecdote about the poet Coleridge in the first three paragraphs?
| A．To emphasize the disadvantage of not having a cell phone. |
| B．To encourage readers to read the works of this poet. |
| C．To show how important inspiration is to a poet. |
| D．To direct readers’ attention to the main topic. |
| A．It is a way of signaling that you don’t like the caller. |
| B．It is basically a good way to protect one’s privacy. |
| C．We should feel guilty when we can’t tell the truth. |
| D．It is natural to tell lies about small things. |
| A．Cell phones interrupt people’s private time. |
| B．With cell phones it is no longer possible to be unreachable. |
| C．People feel guilty when they are not able to answer their cell phones. |
| D．People get so obsessed with the cell phone rings that they fail to notice anything else. |
| A．Never let cell phones disturb your life too much. |
| B．A person who calls us from afar deserves more of our attention. |
| C．Steven Spielberg once called the author to talk about the author’s novel. |
| D．You should always finish your lunch before you answer a call on the cell phone. |
【推荐1】Some English words are made up of (由……组成) the same part and have different beginnings and different endings, such as, import, export, report and transport. All these words, you can see, have the same root “port”, which comes from the Latin word meaning “to carry or to move from one place to another”. And according to the bit at the beginning——which we call the prefix (前缀) the meaning changes: “import” means “to carry in” “to bring into a country”; in “export”, “ex” means “out of, so this word means” to carry out of a country”; “re” means “back”, so the word “report” means “to tell somebody, to bring back information to somebody”; in “transport”, “trans” means “across” and it means “to carry across from one place to another”. Let’s look at the following words: supporter, reporter, importer and exporter. You can see that in this case these words are nouns which are made up of the verbs plus a suffix (后缀) thus meaning a person who completes the verb. So a supporter means somebody who supports. A reporter is somebody who reports. And an importer is somebody who imports and an exporter is somebody who exports, and so on.
1. The word “______” means “进口” in Chinese.| A．export | B．import | C．Report | D．transport |
| A．Beginning | B．ending | C．Root | D．meaning |
| A．the meaning of a Latin word | B．a different meaning |
| C．the meanings of “in” or “out of” | D．a lot of meanings |
| A．somebody who has regained (恢复) health | B．a person who can repair something |
| C．somebody who was good health | D．a person who can do only simple things |
【推荐2】My twin sister is in therapy (治疗). The other day, she missed an important appointment for no good reason. My therapist said it was “time blindness”.
I’m living in New York, 3,000 miles away from my twin. We video chat every day, but I haven’t seen her in person since Christmas.
Time blindness is a term invented by doctors who treat people with ADHD (注意缺陷多动障碍). Psychologist Ari Tuckman says adults typically develop an awareness of time and an ability to track its passing. Some people have what he calls “harder” or “sharper” time awareness: they know when they’ve been out for lunch for too long, or when something hasn’t been in the oven for long enough. The others have much “softer” time awareness: they can miss appointments and trains. Time blindness can greatly impact someone's life if they can't ever meet deadlines. People with ADHD are often more time-blind than others.
Besides our own time awareness, Tuckman says, context plays a role: sleep loss, anxiety, being drunk and anything that might impact how we process the world can make us feel more time-blind. Without the usual time-marker cues we might use to divide up our days — the school bus arriving, the line at the coffee shop, or weekend nights spent at restaurants with friends — we’re swimming in a sea of sameness.
Sorrow is one of the biggest causes of time blindness, according to Tuckman. Holding onto time is a skill of your mind, like doing math, and sadness reduces its computing strength. It's why time goes faster when I talk to my twin sister, when I’m not so sad.
Tuckman says it might be nice for more people to understand time blindness.
1. What do we know about the author and her sister?| A．She is not optimistic about her sister’s health. |
| B．It has been years since they chatted in person. |
| C．She has learned her sister’s illness is less serious. |
| D．She chats with her sister every day. |
| A．They are often productive in a limited time. |
| B．They tend to spend less time in having lunch. |
| C．They are good at keeping track of time passing. |
| D．They usually need stronger time management. |
| A．Troubles we are suffering from. |
| B．Ordinary activities in our daily life. |
| C．Activities in our home. |
| D．The same things we share regularly. |
| A．Sadness. | B．Deep thought. |
| C．Surprise. | D．Hard-work. |
【推荐3】Would a faster reading speed mean that we could learn more? Some people claim that it’s possible. In July last year，the six-time speed reading champion Anne Jones sat down to read Harper Lee’s Go Seta Watchman. Just 25 minutes and 31 seconds later, she finished it--- which equals a reading rate of around 3100 words per minute. Jones runs training courses teaching speed reading, recall and concentration techniques and there are numerous speed reading apps that have appeared on the market over the past few years. But do they actually work?
First, we need to understand how we read. The human eye movement system is central to our reading ability. Read over that sentence again, and think about how your eyes scan across the words. They don't move smoothly over them. Instead, they make a series of short, sharp jumps, skipping over a few characters before briefly landing on a word. The movements are known as saccades(扫视)and the pauses are called fixations.
Reading isn't just about seeing the words---you need to comprehend them to build up a picture about what the text means. People are able to get through a block of text faster, but at the cost of accuracy and understanding. In other words, you use a speed reading app, then you'll probably get the gist(主旨) of a piece of text, but you'll struggle to recall details about what you’ve just read.
So, does speed reading work? Well, yes and no. It really depends on what you’re reading and why you need to read it. As yet, there isn't a trick that enables you to read a piece of text both quickly and accurately-there's always going to be a trade-off.
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．Speed reading is bad at times. | B．Speed reading is a waste of time. |
| C．Speed reading can work sometimes. | D．Speed reading is always enjoyable. |
| A．Reading apps ensure we read much faster. |
| B．Fast reading makes us learn more knowledge. |
| C．Reading ability is not related to the eye movement system. |
| D．You probably get the main idea of a passage by using a speed reading App. |
| A．She runs training courses teaching only speed reading technique. |
| B．She is a running champion. |
| C．She can read very fast. |
| D．She creates some speed reading apps. |
| A．The advantages of faster or slower reading. |
| B．The reasons why to do faster or slower reading. |
| C．The methods for making use of faster or slower reading. |
| D．The cases where to do faster and slower reading. |
【推荐1】We all know that zebra have strips(条纹). But why? It’s hard to get a black-and-white answer. This is a question not just common people like us have asked, but scientists too.
Several studies have been done to find out the reason behind the stripes and many theories have been suggested. According to a recent study, the type of stripes changes depending on the temperature where zebras live. The warmer the place is, the more stripes they may have. From this study, scientists believe that stripes may help to keep a zebra cool in warmer places.
According to the cooler temperature theory, when air hits a zebra, the movements of air are stronger and faster over the black parts and slower over the white. This is because black color takes in more heat than white. So at the point where the black and white meet, there is cooling airflow. It can quickly cool a zebra’s skin! In fact, scientists have noticed that heavily striped zebras have 5.4℉ lower skin temperature than other animals without stripes in the same area.
Some scientists believe that stripes may be an adaptation by zebras to defend themselves from the horseflies that follow zebras. The cooler temperature theory holds merit here to, since disease-carrying flies like horseflies like it hot, Flies also don’t like landing on striped surfaces.
There also have been many other theories that have been suggested for why zebras have stripes. Some explanations are very common. One of them is that stripes may help zebras hide in grass especially from lions. Lions are color blind and even if they are not far away they may see stripes as grey and be confused by them. What’s more, zebras are a large group of animals living together. When a number of zebra stand or move together, stripes may confuse lions into thinking it is one large animal.
1. Stripes are helpful for zebras to ________.| A．stay cool | B．move together |
| C．live in cold places | D．fight against diseases |
| A．Lions may be frightened away by strips |
| B．Lions may see stripes as many animals |
| C．Stripes can prevent zebras from being seen |
| D．Stripes may make lions confused |
| A．works well | B．sounds unreasonable |
| C．causes disagreement | D．needs supporting facts |
| A．Why lions can’t eat zebra | B．How horseflies keep away from zebras |
| C．Why zebras have strips | D．How stripes keep a zebra cool |
【推荐2】Goa is the official holiday destination of India. It is just the one-stop destination to fulfill all your desires and there are endless things that you can do. Here is a list of adventure sports and activities that you must definitely try. So, take a look.
Parasailing
Parasailing is one of the most famous adventure sports in Goa. Your parachute is attached to a motorboat and when the boat swings in with full momentum, you feel like you're flying like a bird.
Cost: INR 1000 per person
Duration: 5 —10 Minutes
Water Scooter
If you are a fan of speed and thrill then this sport is just for you. Riding a water scooter through the blue waters of Goa is like a dream coming true and that is why you should not miss out on the opportunity of doing it.
Cost: INR 200—300 per scooter
Duration: About 20 minutes
Windsurfing
Windsurfing is a combination of both sailing and surfing and is again, one of the very famous sports around the north Goa region. And if you are facing any issues with the same you might join a surfing coaching for being an expert at this sport.
Cost: INR 400—600
Duration: 1—2 hours
White Water Rafting
Why is it an adventure sport that is loved by people across the country? This sport is easily doable and is less risky. Plus, it does not require a lot of training before actually taking up. People who come with less time in hand, find white water rafting as one of their most favourite sports in Goa.
Cost: INR 1799 — 2499
Duration: 2 — 3 hours
1. Which will you try if you are a speed fan?| A．Parasailing. | B．Water Scooter. |
| C．Windsurfing. | D．White Water Surfing. |
| A．It lasts the longest hours. | B．It's less demanding. |
| C．It needs specific training. | D．It's the cheapest. |
| A．It's the most adventurous. | B．It's least expensive. |
| C．It's an aerial sport. | D．It's easy to handle. |
【推荐3】It was in 2004 that I decided to build a garden at Charlton Manor Primary School. I’d seen the news reports about children lacking (缺乏) knowledge of where their food came from and felt that we as a society had been separated from food. The reason for this was clear to me: we were no longer educating our children about food in schools. I saw a garden as a chance for the children to learn in a real way. I also wanted to use it to cover topics: life cycles, flowering plants, creative writing and report writing. I believed that plenty of subjects could be well taught in a garden, while increasing pupils’ activity levels and encouraging teamwork.
With many teachers facing explanations from children such as “It wasn’t my fault” and “It wasn’t only me”, here was our chance to develop a sense of responsibility. It hasn’t all been plain sailing (一帆风顺) though. At the beginning, we tried hard to get some of the teachers on board, because of concerns that behavioural problems would worsen — because if they couldn’t trust the children in the classroom, wouldn’t they be worse outside? But once those teachers started making use of the garden there was recognisable behaviour change in those pupils. The children worked as a team and took responsibility for growing the plants.
We needed to think about funding (资金), too. I know other schools that have taken different routes to support such projects — finding parent and grandparent volunteers or someone with a knowledge of gardening who are ready to share their skills and support teachers. Community is a big thing for us. Products from the garden are sold in the school shop, run by the children on weekdays. We’ve also begun selling products, such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggs and honey to parents and others, and a local restaurant and Borough Market in central London, helping us to channel (引导) funds back into the garden.
The research of the Food Growing in Schools Taskforce makes clear the advantages of school gardens: learning, increased understanding of the natural environment. It has also shown that outdoor learning can add value to everyday experiences in the classroom. I’d agree. The garden has provided wonderful learning chances for the children. It has brought the community together.
1. Why did the author plan a school garden?| A．To prove the news reports true. |
| B．To make use of the waste land in school. |
| C．To provide students with physical activities. |
| D．To offer students chances to get to know nature. |
| A．It went smoothly from the start. |
| B．It fails to get through difficult times. |
| C．It was doubted by students in the beginning. |
| D．It has developed students’ sense of responsibility. |
| A．It depends on volunteers. |
| B．It makes money by selling its goods. |
| C．It is supported by local government. |
| D．It collects money from students’ families. |
| A．The influence of communities on schools. |
| B．The learning abilities of students. |
| C．The good of school gardens. |
| D．The power of nature. |
【推荐1】Must-read Books that Are Hitting the Big Screen This Year
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Starring: Jessica Chastain and Johan Heldenbergh
Release Date: July 31, 2017
This true story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Ackerman artfully retells the story of Jan and Zabinski and how they used their zoo to save over three hundred people from the Nazis. After their zoo was bombed, they managed to hide people in animal cages, giving animal names to their guests and human names to their animals. This is one story we truly hope lives up to the hope on film.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Starring: Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson
Release Date: August 14,2017
Looking for adventure? This story is just what you need. The book(and film) tells the tale of British explorer Percy Fawcett and how he ventured into the Amazon jungle in 1925, never to return. It's an enchanting mystery that we can’t wait to see play out on screen.
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Starring: Richard Gere and Rebecca Hall
Release Date: October 5,2017
We always say we'd do absolutely anything for our kids, right? The story begins with two couples politely, eating dinner together, avoiding a conversation about their children who have committed a horrific act. As the story goes on, you'll see just how far these parents will go to protect the ones they love.
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Starring: Emma Watson and Patton Oswalt
Release Date: November 28,2017
A young woman, Mae, is hired to work for a powerful Internet company and Feels like she's hit the job jackpot. The facility is very advanced, lively, and a bit wild. Mae's story begins as one of ambition but soon turns into a heart-racing story of suspense.
1. Why did Jan and Zabinski put people in animal cages?| A．To offer them living places | B．To treat them as animals |
| C．To avoid being bombed | D．To hide from the Nazis |
| A．Emma Watson | B．Rebecca Hall |
| C．Sienna Miller | D．Jessica Chastain |
| A．In July | B．In August |
| C．In October | D．In November |
| A．The Zookeeper's Wife | B．The Lost City of Z |
| C．The Dinner | D．The Circle |
【推荐2】Uggs(雪地靴) are certainly ugly, or at least inelegant. The shapeless boots, pulled on in a hurry, can make anyone look like a slob（懒惰的人）, which has made them the target of disrespect. It hasn’t been hard to find someone strongly condemning them. “Ugg boots are no sexy,” The Independent declared in 2003, “unless you’re Mrs. Bigfoot on a lone mission across Antarctic to find Mr. Bigfoot. When wearing the boots, a writer of The Gloss complained, “There’s nothing to indicate that you don’t have square, horrible shoeboxes in place of human feet.” In 2015, one coffee shop on Brick Lane in east London ever banned ugg-wearers.
And yet, over the years, plenty of strange and unattractive shoes have met with the approval of the fashion establishment. The problem with uggs wasn’t that they were ugly; it’s that they were common.
But a funny thing happened on the way to fashion’s tomb: the universal ugg has not gone anywhere. Uggs have quietly stayed here since their best time. Once you start paying attention, you’ll be shocked to discover how many people are still wearing them. They are worn by mothers in town and in the country, by teenagers on Saturday shopping trip and by people in fashion.
Perhaps the secret of uggs’s unstoppable success is that, if there is a dividing line between public appeal and private style，it might be a pair of cozy boots. They are certainly comfortable, soft and warm, as if your feet were in the hugging of someone who really loves you. At $150 a pair, they are neither cheap nor entirely out of range. They are casual and indulgent(纵容的）.
Somehow uggs, the boots that so many people hate, have managed to challenge the cruel logic of the fashion cycle and carry on whether you approve of them or not.
1. What is the best title of the passage?| A．Uggs Refuse to Die |
| B．Uggs Have Existed So Long |
| C．Uggs Enter the Fashion Circle |
| D．Uggs Have Gone Somewhere |
| A．To prove uggs’ toughness |
| B．To prove uggs’s popularity |
| C．To prove people’s approval |
| D．To prove people’s condemning. |
| A．Uggs are very common |
| B．Uggs are inelegant and ugly |
| C．Uggs are worn by teenagers |
| D．Uggs stay there regardless |
| A．They are very comfortable |
| B．They own private style |
| C．They have public appeal |
| D．They are very cheap |
I first learned to love the mail as a young boy. The first thing I ever received that was personally addressed to me was from my friend Duane. We had been the closest of 9-year-old boys. Then he moved away, to Massachusetts. The parting was difficult, but boys didn’t cry.
Within the week, however, there was a letter in my mailbox. It was from Duane, and it read, “I’m OK, but I miss you.” That first conveyance to me of a written word from a great distance had all the significance of the first Morse code message: “What hath God wrought.” It was at that moment that I became a letter writer, quickly discovering that the more letters I wrote, the more I received.
I wrote letters through elementary school, high school, college, and beyond. It got to the point where I could comfortably expect to receive a letter a day. The daily mail delivery was for me, like a bacon at sea– something toward which my thoughts began to move upon waking. What quickened my blood, of course, was the element of surprise: From whom would the letter be today? And what would the news be?
And then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, the earth shifted. E-mail had arrived. Despite being fascinated by the new technology, I promised myself that I would never stop writing letters by hand. However, I had no control over the habits of others, and slowly, inexorably(不可阻拦地), and then with quickened pace, the letters disappeared from my mailbox, having been replaced with electronic “messages” , a totally different beast —in contrast to letters, all e-mails look alike.
1. The author used to run for the mail mainly because .
| A．he took great interest in mail delivery |
| B．he was looking forward to receiving letters |
| C．he tried to keep mail delivery from approaching |
| D．he wanted to thank the mailman for his heroic deed |
| A．A letter from a long –lost friend. |
| B．The desire to receive more letters. |
| C．The joy of reading the first letter from Duane. |
| D．The influence of the first Morse code message. |
| A．meant a lot to him |
| B．wasted much of his time |
| C．quickened his thoughts |
| D．divided his attention |
| A．They completely changed the world. |
| B．They brought about new technology. |
| C．They affected human relationship. |
| D．They lost the unique features of letters. |
