1 . Nowadays, the world is slowly becoming a high-tech society and we are now surrounded by technology. Facebook and Twitter are innovative tools; text messaging is still a somewhat existing phenomenon and even e-mail is only a flashing spot on the screen when compared with our long history of snail mail. Now we adopt these tools to the point of essentialness, and only rarely consider how we are more fundamentally affected by them.
Social media, texting and e-mail all make it much easier to communicate, gather and pass information, but they also present some dangers. By removing any real human engagement, they enable us to develop our abnormal self-love without the risk of disapproval or criticism. To use a theatrical metaphor (隐喻), these new forms of communication provide a stage on which we can each create our own characters, hidden behind a fourth wall of tweets, status updates and texts. This unreal state of unconcern can become addictive as we separate ourselves a safe distance from the cruelty of our fleshly lives, where we are imperfect, powerless and insignificant. In essence, we have been provided not only the means to be more free, but also to become new, to create and project a more perfect self to the world. As we become more reliant on these tools, they become more a part of our daily routine, and so we become more restricted in this fantasy.
So it is that we live in a cold era, where names and faces represent two different levels of closeness, where working relationships occur only through the magic of email and where love can start or end by text message. An environment such as this reduces interpersonal relationships to mere digital exchanges.
Would a celebrity have been so daring to do something dishonorable if he had had to do it in person? Doubtful. It seems he might have been lost in a fantasy world that ultimately convinced himself into believing the digital self could obey different rules and regulations, as if he could continually push the limits of what’s acceptable without facing the consequences of “real life.”
1. What can we know about new communication tools?A.Destroying our life totally. | B.Posing more dangers than good. |
C.Helping us to hide our faults. | D.Replacing traditional letters. |
A.Sheltering us from virtual life. | B.Removing face-to-face interaction. |
C.Leading to false mental perception. | D.Making us rely more on hi-tech media. |
A.Technologies have changed our relationships. |
B.The digital world is a recipe for pushing limits. |
C.Love can be better conveyed by text message. |
D.The digital self need not take responsibility. |
A.Addiction to the Virtual World | B.Cost of Falling into Digital Life |
C.Interpersonal Skills on the Net | D.The Future of Social Media |
梗概:Spencer在回家途中以自己的急救知识帮助一个男孩脱离危险。
关键词:bandage (用绷带包扎) bleeding (流血) stable (固定的)
wound (伤口) first aid (急救)
Spencer’s parents taught him basic first aid when he was young. One day, Spencer saw a boy
A.103. | B.127. | C.134. |
A.On a football field. | B.At a park. | C.In a hospital. |
A.Doing the gardening. | B.Eating dinner. | C.Doing the cleaning. |
1. How can parents prevent children from falling down the stairs?
A.By using mats. |
B.By fitting safety gates. |
C.By accompanying them. |
A.The kitchen. |
B.The bathroom. |
C.The living room. |
A.A writer. | B.A TV host. | C.A radio host. |
1. How old is the daughter?
A.Two years old. | B.Three years old. | C.Four years old. |
A.She is ill. | B.She has a fever. | C.She drank some ink. |
A.Turn on a fan. | B.Leave the office. | C.Set off the alarm. |
Nowadays, one of the common
IS EXPLORING SPACE
A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY?
NASA satellite image of Typhoon Goni
Countries around the globe are spending billions of dollars and lots of time on various space missions, whether to Mars or other planets much further away. Some people argue that we should stop wasting time and money exploring space. Instead, we should feed the world’s poor and find immediate solutions to other problems, such as pollution and fatal diseases. However, others feel this is a shallow view which fails to realise how exploring space helps us.
Firstly, exploring space has already made a difference in the fight against world hunger. It has directly resulted in the many satellites that now orbit Earth. A number of the satellites record data on land and weather patterns. Then the data is transmitted to scientists on Earth. After careful analysis, the scientists can provide useful recommendations and advice for farmers. As a result, space-based science has helped farming in its efforts to grow enough food to feed Earth’s increasing population.
Secondly, space exploration has already promoted technological improvements that benefit us all. High-end products around the world are made to a higher standard now because of advanced technology which was first created to meet the requirements for space exploration. For example, space technologies have helped the research and development of different types of new material. They have also helped companies make better heart monitors and other machines that doctors regularly use. Today, space technologies are widely used in all kinds of industries, and everyday products such as GPS, memory foam pillows, and smartphone cameras are changing our lives.
Finally, sending astronauts into space has helped people to think about the world’s problems and even to find ways to solve them. Seeing pictures of our planet as an island in a black sea made people realise that our planet’s resources are limited. In order to provide for such a rapidly increasing population, scientists are trying to find other planets that could one day be our new home. The greatest attention at present is on Mars because it is closer to Earth. In the future, humans may live on both planets.
In closing, exploring space provides the world with many different benefits. Therefore, it should continue so as to provide new and better solutions to people’s short-term and long-term problems.
A. Space exploration has already promoted technological improvements that benefit us. B. Sending astronauts into space has helped people to think about the world’s problems and even to find ways to solve them. C. Different opinions about space exploration. D. Exploration space provides the world with many benefits, so it should continue. E. Exploration space has made a difference in the fight against world hunger. |
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