1 . What would your life be like without phones?

In one of my classes today we discussed the question of how our lives would be without a mobile phone. I actually felt quite sad to hear how some kids cannot ______ without their phones these days. ______, I think nowadays we are controlled and ______ by our technology to keep up. So let’s see some of the points that ______ in the debate and see if our generation really is addicted(上瘾的) to electronic connections ______ true communication.

It is true that everything ______ at a fast pace these days. For example, you can contact someone who lives on the other side of the world within ______. This is great if you think about how connected we can stay to the ______ who are far away from us. However, on the contrary, can we be too connected to the people who are ______ to us? An argument arose about the ______ that it is easier to message someone from your sofa than to meet them ______ and talk. Social skills are ______ to have and if you are not going to put effort into real-life ______, then you are not going to ______ in this ability.

Another point was that phones are very handy for ______ something that you are wondering about. For example, if you don’t know a word in another language, you can ______ and simply use an on-line translator to help you out. This can be very ______ in many situations, but it can also make a person dependent on the ______.

All in all, this question is very interesting to ______ as we become day by day more dependent on technology. We should realize how much we really need to be connected with our phones while considering the ______ and damage it can cause us.

2 . In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The _______ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of _______ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we _______ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to _______ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. _______ modern manufacturing (制造业)and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and _______.

Another cause is our _______of disposable (一次性的) products. As _______ people, we are always looking for _______ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies ________ thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also ________ to the problem. We are ________ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that ________ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we ________ useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the ________ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To ________ the amount of rubbish and to protect the ________, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. ________, this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions ________ throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about ________. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.