1 . For a period of time in the early 80s, I watched I Dream of Jeannie reruns every afternoon in the empty time between school and supper. But I always felt a little deflated when the closing theme came on, since it meant that I had to wait an entire day for the next episode.
Decades later, thanks to the modern technology, on-demand viewing and an endless supply of content now allow us to find exactly the entertainment we want, when we want it. My own kids happily binge-watch (刷剧) Fresh Off the Boat, just as I dreamed of doing with Jeannie.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about a disadvantage of our just-for-you world. My kids miss out on all the things that are not just for them. Looking back, some of my more memorable discoveries as a child came about only because I didn’t have access to entertainment that I would have preferred.
When we would visit our aunts, my sisters and brothers and I didn’t have tablets to keep ourselves occupied while the adults chatted. So we would read whatever we could find. I looked forward to Sunday afternoons at Aunt Rose’s so that I could catch up on aliens (外星人) and Hollywood stars in Weekly World News. These things — none of which were aimed at my tastes — were all that was on offer. However, they brought me so much enjoyment.
Electronic searching now takes us directly to what we seek. We are less likely to come across things that have nothing to do with what we are looking for. But finding something by accident is powerful in its purposelessness. It’s nature throwing things up against a wall to see what sticks. It’s the force that drives evolution.
Getting exactly what you want all the time sounds great. But as anyone who is familiar with fantasy stories knows, there’s always a catch.
(以下是A种题型)
1. What does the underlined word “deflated” in paragraph 1 mean?
| A．Depressed. | B．Thrilled. | C．Convinced. | D．Ashamed. |
| A．Latest tablets. | B．Brothers and sisters. |
| C．Various reading materials. | D．Pleasant conversations. |
| A．It contributes to the evolution. |
| B．It’s absolutely beneficial to adults. |
| C．It’s a blessing of this modern world. |
| D．It takes unexpected joy away from people. |
| A．What was on offer in the early 80s |
| B．What our kids miss out in a just-for-you world |
| C．How adults had fun with inaccessible entertainment |
| D．How anxious-to-please Internet changed the future of kids |
(以下是B种题型)
5. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?
6. Where did the author get memorable discoveries as a child?
7. What is the advantage of finding something by accident according to paragraph 5?
8. What does the author think of fantasy stories?
