1 . Today’s grandparents are joining grandchildren on social media, but the different generation’s online habits couldn’t be more different. The over-55s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers, meaning that they will soon be the site’s second biggest user group, with 3.5 million users aged 55-64 and 2.9 million over-65s.
Sheila, aged 59, says, “I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and photos of them. It’s a much better way to see what they’re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the post. I think I’m lucky I get to see so much more of their lives than my grandparents did.”
However, Sheila’s grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under 17 are leaving the site—only 2.2 million users are under 17---but they’re not going far from their smartphones. Chloe, age 15, even sleeps with her phone. “It’s my alarm clock so I have to,” she says. “I look at it before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.”
Teenagers might have their parents to thank for their smartphone and social media addiction as their parents were the early adopters of the smartphone. Peter, 38 and father of two teenagers, reports that he used to be on his phone or laptop constantly. He says, “How could I tell my kids to get off their phones is I was always in front of a screen myself?” So, in the evenings and at weekends, he takes his SIM card out of his smartphone and puts it into an old-style mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. “I’m not completely separated from the world if emergent, but the important thing is that I’m setting a better example to my kids and spending more quality time with them.”
Is it only a matter of time until the generation above and below Peter catches up with the new trend (趋势) for a less digital life?
1. How does Sheila feel about social media?| A．Useful. | B．Disappointed. | C．Useless. | D．Addicted. |
| A．To make calls to his boss. |
| B．To stop his work. |
| C．To set a good example to his kids. |
| D．To catch up with the new trend. |
| A．different | B．figured out | C．cut off | D．protected |
| A．Children under 17 don’t use smartphone at all. |
| B．Chloe is one of the early adopters of the smartphone. |
| C．Today’s grandparents enjoy a life without social media. |
| D．People may enjoy a less digital life in the near future. |
2 . I read with interest a recent article on Galactocorp’s planned Shuttlejet flight later this year. I cannot imagine more stupid thing than this, so-called space tourism, and can’t help wondering what on earth humanity is coming to if this can be successful business.
Many may think that space travel is the highest human achievement, which may be the condition when scientific endeavor (努力) is the aim. However, when it comes to space tourism, think we may have found the top of human stupidity. Consider the high cost of getting into space, the billions of dollars wasted on building the Shuttlejet, and the many thousands spent by the passengers—and for what? So that forty fat cats can have a first-class meal along with six minutes of weightlessness, before returning to earth? Never before has so much money been spent for so little benefit (利益). I invite all space tourists to come around to my house. I can treat them to a big dinner and they can have jump on the trampoline (蹦床), and they’ll only need to pay me half the price of Galactocorp.
Further, the money can be used in a smarter way. Think of the many worthy causes that would benefit from the money that has been thrown away on this project already. There are many medical programs in those poor countries. A few hundred thousand dollars could make a big difference to the lives of thousands of people. The benefits would last far longer than six minutes.
Not only is the Shuttlejet a terrible waste of money, it’s also a terrible waste of resources (资源). Think about the materials required to build and the things required to drive the Shuttlejet. Do we really want to pollute the environment for such a pointless exercise and waste so much money for such a pointless exercise?
In a word, we all need to come back down to earth and forget this stupid dream of space tourism.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this text?| A．To ask for advice. | B．To stop project. |
| C．To share his idea. | D．To express his interest. |
| A．Helping the fat cats lose weight. |
| B．Asking people to have fun in his house. |
| C．Providing a trampoline for space tourists. |
| D．Preparing first-class-meal for the forty cats. |
| A．It costs space tourists a lot of money. |
| B．It is just a scientific aim. |
| C．It is bad for the environment. |
| D．It causes a lot of waste in money and resources. |
| A．The project is unrealistic. | B．The project is unscientific. |
| C．The money should be spent on earth. | D．Space is nothing compared with earth. |
