“Life is speeding up. Everyone is becoming unwell.” This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unwell person who lived in Rome in AD (公元) 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives.
But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done.
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity (电) often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a trendy, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.
1. The writer uses the quote (引号) at the beginning of the story to ________.| A．tell us a truth about our lives |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point out what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same |
| A．have stopped our lives |
| B．have improved the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy |
| D．may bring people some trouble |
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
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【推荐1】You may know about “junk food” like French fries. But do you know about “junk sleep”？
Recently, a British survey found that electronic(电子的) products in teenagers’ bedrooms are affecting(影响) their sleep.
The survey was done among 1，000 British kids from 12 to 16.It found that 30% of them got just 4 to 7 hours of sleep every day. But doctors say they need 8 to 9 hours.
Almost a quarter of the kids said they fell asleep more than once a week while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic products.
“This is very worrying，” said Dr. Chris Idzikowski，a British expert，“We call it ‘junk sleep’．It means you don’t get enough sleep and the quality of the sleep is bad, too. If you don’t get a good rest，you don’t perform well in school the next day.”
The survey found that 40% of the kids felt tired each day，with girls between 13 and 16 feeling the worst. Nearly all the teenagers have a cellphone，an iPad or a TV in their bedrooms. And many of them have all the three.
1. This passage is mainly about ________ .| A．junk food | B．junk sleep | C．electronic products |
| A．200 | B．300 | C．500 |
| A．they are both low in quality（质量） |
| B．they are both produced in factories |
| C．they are both good for people’s health |
| A．Teenagers need 4 to 7 hours of sleep each day. |
| B．Few of the teenagers have a cellphone in their bedrooms. |
| C．Teenagers spend too much time on electronic products. |
| A．Parents watch TV together with their children. |
| B．Make teenagers not use any electronic product. |
| C．Make teenagers limit(限制) their use of the electronic products. |
Richard from the USA: My dream school would have a big swimming pool and two soccer fields. It would also have a cinema, a gym and a shopping center. My school has none of these, and I think there should be more pleasant things for students to do while they are studying.
Sonia from Italy: I’d like a room where we can relax and play computer games. I’d also like to have a music room. I think there should be a place for everyone to go and relax after class.
Wu from Beijing: I think it would be great to have another day off every week, besides the weekend. If that day was a Friday or a Monday, we would have a long weekend every week. What fun! I also think school should start later, at about 10 o’clock, and finish earlier.
Hannah from Australia: In my dream school, I think the teachers should give us more freedom（自由）and choice about how we study and what we study. I also think it’s not necessary for us to wear school uniforms every day. I really don’t like wearing it.
1. There would be in Richard’s dream school.
| A．a big swimming pool and a music room |
| B．a room to relax and play computer games |
| C．a big swimming pool, two soccer fields, a cinema, a gym and a shopping center |
| D．a cinema, a gym, and a shopping center |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．Italy. | B．Japan. |
| C．Australia. | D．China. |
| A．Sonia from Italy would like a room where she can relax and play computer games |
| B．Richard from the USA thinks his dream school should start at 10 o’clock |
| C．Hannah from Australia likes wearing a school uniform every day |
| D．Wu from Shanghai thinks it would be great to have another day off every week |
| A．Schools in the past | B．Schools today |
| C．Dream schools | D．Around the world |
| A. Take a deep breath while taking a test. It usually helps a lot. You should practice more so that you can work out different kinds of maths problems. B. Don’t spend too much time in shopping online. You can do some jobs in your free time to make some money. C. You should call and say sorry to your friend. Fights cannot solve any problems. Try to have a talk with him. D. Have you done anything wrong? If not, have a talk with your teacher. I’m sure you will get on well with each other soon. E. Write down your feelings about your cat in your diary so that you won’t feel lonely. Everything will be OK. F. When you are 14 or 15, your voice will get lower and people won’t mistake you again. G. Being at home without your parents might be interesting. Do something you like. You will find it fun to stay at home. |
