4 . Life in the Internet age is lonely-or is it? That’s what experts in human interaction are debating after a new Stanford University survey has been published.

According to the study, the more time people spend online, the less they can spare for real-life relationships with family and friends. The researchers asked 113 people about the Web’s influence on daily activities, 36% of those people are online for more than five hours a week. “As Internet use becomes more widespread, it will have an increasingly isolating (孤立的) effect on society, ” says Robert Kraut, one of the researchers.

Scholars and Web lovers criticized the study for stretching its data to make the “isolating” point. While 13% of regular Web users admitted the loss of time with loved ones, 60% reported watching less TV. The survey also shows that E-mail is the most popular online activity, If some of webheads (网虫) spend what was once passive TV time keeping company with friends via E-mails, “that’s a move toward greater connectedness,” says Paul Resnick, a professor at the University of Michigan.

This isn’t the first claim that the Web should be criticized. A 1998 report monitored 73 Pittsburgh-area families’ net use for a year. “People who used the Internet more talked less to family members and reported being lonelier and more depressed,” says Robert Kraut.

“It’s true that there have been big declines in social connectedness over the past decades, but those declines began before the Internet was invented,” says Thomas Putnam.

As Amitay Etzioni says, the Internet gives us a different kind of social life-not better or worse than before, but just different.

5 . Showrooming

One of the biggest challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers (实体零售店) in recent years has been the “showrooming”. Driven by the desire to get the best prices, many shoppers are now visiting brick-and-mortar stores to personally check on products that interest them, only to leave and then buy the items online. The new trend is forcing retailers to find out new ways to keep consumers from leaving their store for cheaper prices online.

Recent research found that 40 percent of U.S. shoppers have showroomed previously, with big-box retailers suffering the most. Specifically, the study shows that Best Buy, Walmart and Target are the most likely brick-and-mortar stores to have shoppers test out a product in-store and then purchase it online later, while Amazon is benefiting most from the practice, with nearly 60 percent of shoppers using the online retail giant (巨人) most often to make their showrooming purchases.

Smartphones have pushed showrooming into the front. Shoppers no longer have to wait until they get home to see if they can find a cheaper price for the products they’re considering buying. With smartphones, consumers can now compare virtual prices, at both other brick-and-mortar stores and online ones while still inside a retail store. If they can find what they’re seeking for less online, the majority will be seeking the first exit. A recent study showed that 45 percent of customers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores walk out and buy their purchase online for a discount of as little as 2.5 percent.

This puts pressure on retailers to provide both an in-store experience worth staying for and an online presence that can attract shoppers who are showrooming in other businesses.

To cut down on showrooming, many retailers are adopting new methods to keep shoppers in their stores. Among the steps they’re taking are price-matching assurances that allow shoppers to pay a discounted price if they find it cheaper online. This ensures that even a showrooming shopper can make the purchase in the store — regardless of whether they find the cheaper price online.

Another popular method to fight against showrooming is to give shoppers the ability to buy something online and pick it up at the store. This reduces shipping costs and gets customers in the store, where they may be encouraged to make an additional purchase.

It is also important for businesses to take into consideration what makes shoppers purchase something in-store rather than online, and meet those needs. Research has found that more than 8 in 10 Americans consider being able to take the goods home immediately and the ability to touch and feel them—the most important aspects when deciding to purchase in a store rather than online.

6 . Many on the Mountain

We often see people waiting in lines at supermarkets, theatres and amusement parks. Surprisingly, some people even have to wait in line at the summit (顶峰) of Qomolangma in the Himalayas.

The best time to climb the Himalayas is during the months of April and May, as well as some days in September and October. "In these periods of recent years, the path contains rocks and deep crack from melting ice due to the warm weather, which make expeditions up the mountain more dangerous," said Apa, an experienced Nepalese guide. During this year's climbing season, crowds of climbers became stuck in a long line near the summit. The line is above the mountain's highest campsite—about 8,000 meters above sea level.

However, most people can only spend a few minutes at the summit without extra oxygen supplies. Twenty-one mountaineers have died in the Himalayan mountains so far this year, according to Gripped, a magazine dedicated to mountain climbing. Eleven of these climbers died on Qomolangma.

This death count marks a four-year high. Overcrowding, inexperience and poor weather have been the most common causes of death, USA Today reported.

After these tragedies, one question remains: Why do so many people risk their lives to climb the mountain? The answer differs from climber to climber. Studies suggest that people who take risks tend to perceive themselves differently than people who avoid risky activities. But for adventurers who are drawn to the Himalayas, reaching the summit of Qomolangma is a lifelong dream, according to Discovery News.

"Qomolangma is like a light to bugs that attracts people once they hear about it. It represents the ultimate for many people," US mountaineer Alan Arnette said. Technological advances have also encouraged more people to climb the mountain. People can get high-tech safety equipment more easily than before. And with the internet, climbers know better than ever about how to reach the summit safely, Yahoo Travel noted.

7 . Once I told someone I wanted to get a master’s degree of fine arts in creative writing and they told me it was the second-to-worst post-graduation plan they’d ever heard from a student. Arts degrees—especially fine arts degrees, which usually come in the form of music, studio art, creative writing and theater—have been, over the years, labeled useless.

It’s true that for the most part, STEM degrees lead to higher paying jobs than liberal and fine arts degrees, and it’s understandable why young people care about a higher starting salary and financial security. Student loan debt is playing a role in the physical and mental stress of young people.

And while STEM majors usually have starting salaries that are $20,000 higher than those of liberal arts majors, by the time people reach the age of 40, the salaries between those who majored in the liberal arts and those who majored in STEM are virtually the same. For example, women who major in STEM earned nearly 50% more than social science and history majors at ages 23-25, but only 10% more by ages 38-40, a New York Times analysis reported. So even in terms of salary, which doesn’t solely determine whether or not a degree is useful, liberal arts degrees aren’t all that far behind STEM.

It seems too that since people nowadays are going to have to work longer, it’s more important than ever that we actually like and care about what we’re doing. Pursuing something enjoyable, or else a passion, is continuously found to be a key factor in maintaining healthy relationships, mental health, physical health and energy. In other words, not useless.

Art is also a method of communication. It allows people from different backgrounds, from different walks of life to communicate with each other. In a world where borders and division seem to be all over the place, we need art more than ever. We need liberal arts majors. And more than anything, we need to be able to pursue what we love with confidence, and we need to not get caught up in the ”usefulness“ of what we love.

And just because someone’s primary job isn’t in their field of study—a writer who teaches high school for example—doesn’t make the degree useless. It just means that their way of finding a stable income is different. The same goes for artists who have to work multiple jobs to support themselves. They might have to find other means of supporting themselves and their artistry. It might be copy editing or it might be tutoring,

So I am going to graduate school, and I am going to graduate school for writing. I might be paying rent by way of overnight restaurant shifts—there’s so much I’m not sure of. But one thing I am sure of is this—I would rather be a writer working two jobs to pay my bills than be no writer at all.

8 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空，在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Shakespeare and Company is an English-language bookshop in the heart of Paris. It    1    (be) a meeting place for writers and readers for almost seventy years. In 1951, a bookshop named Le Mistral was opened by George-Whitman. In 1964, it was renamed Shakespeare and Company    2    honor of a bookseller he admired, Sylvia Beach, who founded the original Shakespeare and Company. Beach’s bookstore had been a gathering place for great writers of the time, including Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Pound. From the first day, writers, artists, and intellectuals were invited    3    (sleep) for free among the shelves.