For decades, families settled on the sofa to share the latest news and TV series, until additional bedroom TV, computer games and the Internet almost put an end to family rows over who held the remote control. Now, however, the traditional living room scene is making a comeback. A study by the communications watchdog Ofcom has found families are once again gathering around the main television set, but they are bringing their pads and smartphones with them.
“The 1950s living room is making a comeback as a family entertainment centre,” said Jane Rumble, head of media research at Ofcom. “We are watching on much better, bigger, and more delicate television sets, but we are coming into the living room holding our connected devices.” While the family are coming together once more, comparisons with the past end there. With a range of smaller screens on hand, not everyone sitting on the sofa shares the same viewing experience.
The coronation (加冕礼) may have drawn the undivided attention of 20 million viewers in 1953, but those watching the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations 50 years later were as likely to be commenting online about BBC’s broadcast as watching it. “Just a few years ago, we would be talking about last night’s TV at work or at school,” said a viewer, “Now, we’re having those conversations live while watching TV, using social media, text and instant messaging.”
It is a behaviour of media meshing(联网), whose influence was underlined during this year’s Wimbledon men’s tennis final. As Andy Murray pushed towards his victory, 1.1 million people worldwide sent an average of over two microblogs about the match.
People use the Internet to enhance their television experience, for example, by reading a newspaper live blog about a football match while watching the action on the main screen. For a huge number of younger viewers, the portable screen offers a chance to do something unrelated, such as online shopping, listening to music or watching another television programme.
Some 70% of 16-to-24-year-olds claim to be absorbed in what Ofcom calls “media stacking” at least once a week. For TV viewers, the Internet scanning is the most popular activity, but they are also calling friends on the phone or sending emails and texts. Surprisingly, 12% claim to have listened to the radio with the television on, and 6% say they have watched another video in the meanwhile. According to the study by Ofcom, family members nowadays _______.
A.care more about who holds the remote control |
B.share the same programmes in the living room |
C.watch better and more delicate television programmes |
D.enjoy TV together with various smaller screens on hand |
This year’s Wimbledon men’s tennis final is mentioned to indicate _______.
A.so many people worldwide are watching TV |
B.people like watching live matches on TV |
C.the great influence of media meshing |
D.the average amount of microblogs |
Which shows the phenomenon of “media stacking” in the last paragraph?
A.People are watching TV while shopping online. |
B.People are watching a broadcast of a coronation. |
C.The Internet makes people spend less time on TV. |
D.The Internet enriches people’s television experience. |
The passage is written to .
A.describe the changes connected devices(设备,仪器) bring to TV watching |
B.report the comeback of the traditional living room scene |
C.show the influence of connected devices on people |
D.present the different roles TV plays in people’s life |
The First Day at My Senior High School
Today is September1,2012.It is the first day of my senior high school.Everything in the school is new to me.
The school is very modern. The gate of the school is artistic(艺术的). When you go through the main gate,you can see a high stadium (体育场)on the left side of the road, which has a 400-meter runaway and a soccer field with green grass. Buildings are tall and beautiful. The library is the most attractive building on the right side of the main road. There are many green trees and colorful flowers on both sides of the roads. The classrooms are amazing. They are big, clean and bright. In each classroom, there is a computer and a big screen,through which our teachers can show us tests,photos, and so on.
In my class, there are 60 students. We don’t know each other, but we are all friendly.Everyone has a smile on his/her face. When we meet, we always say “Hello”to each other.
Most of our teachers are young. Some students think young teachers cannot teach well, but I do not think so. In my opinion,young teachers are very energetic and easy to make friends with. What’s more, they may have a lot of new teaching methods.
I love my new school very much. I hope, in my new school, I can learn more from my teachers and make progress together with my classmates.The writer’s new school is a very _________one.
A.strange | B.modern | C.artistic | D.amazing |
according to the passage,which of the following is NOT true?
A.Green trees and colorful flowers are planted on either side of the roads. |
B.The library is on the right of the main road, while the stadium is on the left. |
C.The soccer field is outside of the school yard. |
D.The classrooms are big, clean and bright. |
The writer thinks differently from other students about _________in the school.
A.teaching methods | B.classes | C.young teachers | D.buildings |
From the passage, we can know that _______.
A.The writer’s new school is the best school. |
B.All students in this school like old teachers. |
C.Students say Hello to each other to introduce themselves. |
D.The writer loves his new school at first sight. |
It's the end of class. When the bell rings, students of Luohu Foreign Languages School in Shenzhen quickly take out their cell phones. They want to log on to their micro blogs(微博) to check the interesting things that have happened in the last hour.
Since last year, thetrend of micro blogging has swept the country. Recent surveys shows that most students in middle schools have a micro blog and some even update their blogs over five times per day.
"We learn many fresh and interesting things on micro blogs and they have become popular topics in class," said Andy Liang, 14. "If you do not know about them, you are out."
It is also a great place for students to let out stress. "My parents always ask me to study hard, and encourage me before exams, but it really adds pressure," said Simon Zhang, 15. "When I share these feelings on my micro blog, I get many replies from friends in the same situation, which makes me feel better."
But parents are worried that micro blogging could be a waste of time. Some misleading messages may even cause danger to kids, they said.
Mr. Shen, a professor at the China Education Association, suggests parents not worry too much as long as kids are not crazy about micro blogging. Maybe it can become a window for parents to understand their children. "If parents can read their children's micro blogs, they'll know their thoughts, thus leading to better communication and solutions to problems," he said. He also gives some tips for kids.
-Don't micro blog for more than one hour a day.
-Never micro blog in class.
-Try to talk face to face with people from time to time.
-Be critical(批判性的). Don't trust all the messages on a micro blog.Students log on to their micro blogs to .
A.check the things | B.write articles | C.listen to music | D.call their parents |
Micro blog made Simon when he shared his feelings and got replies on his micro blog.
A.feel sad | B.let out stress | C.add pressure | D.make friends |
We can know from Mr. Shen that micro blogging can .
A.make kids crazy while logging on to it |
B.bring a lot of misleading messages |
C.become a window to understand young kids |
D.lead to worse communication |
Don't micro blog for a day.
A more than one hour B. less than one hour C. one hour D. more than two hoursWhich is Wrong ?
A.Never micro blog in class. |
B.They'll know their thoughts through micro blog. |
C.Trust all the messages on a micro blog. |
D.Be critical(批判性的) |
Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.
In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.
Happiness is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also be very happy, When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and poor and you have bad luck. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.Those who have big houses may often feel ________.
A.happy | B.lonely | C.free | D.excited |
What will your friends say to you when you succeed?
A.Oh, so do I. | B.Congratulations. |
C.Good luck. | D.It’s just so-so. |
Happiness is ________ according to the writer.
A. having a lot of money B. having a big house C a feeling of heart D.having a car Which of the following is this passage about?
A.Bad luck. | B.Good luck. | C.Life. | D.Happiness. |
Which idea is Wrong according to the passage?
A.People who have cars would never like to walk in the open air. |
B.You can get help from others when you make mistakes. |
C.You can still be a happy person even if you have little money. |
D.Happiness is always around you though difficulties come towards you. |
How old is “old”? The answer has changed over the years. Two hundred years ago,you were old at 35.At the beginning of the 20 th century,the average life span(平均寿命)was 45. In 1950,70-year-olds were really old.Today,a healthy 70-year-old is still thought young.
So,how old is old? The answer is one you’ve heard many times,from all kinds of people.“You are as old(or young)as you feel.”Your age simply tells you how many years you have lived.Your body tells you how well you’ve lived.
“Nobody grows old by living a number of years.” wrote a writer.“People grow old when they don’t have their ideas.”
People shouldn’t have the wrong ideas about aging.Sometimes,older minds can be as bright as young minds.Alice Brophy once said,“It makes me unhappy when people say,‘You look young for your age。’ What does that mean?You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80. ” In 1950, the average life span was .
A.35 | B.45 | C.50 | D.70 |
People grow old when according to a writer.
A.they don’t have their ideas. | B.they live many years. |
C.They can’t live longer. | D.they have their ideas. |
The meaning of the underlined word “aging” is “ ”
A.growing old | B.staying young |
C.keeping healthy | D.feeling unhappy |
Which question is NOT answered in the passage?
A.Can older people be as bright as young people? |
B.What’s the wrong ideas about aging? |
C.How old is “old”? |
D.what is the average life span today? |
The passage is mainly about __________ .
A.the average life span | B.aging |
C.the 20th century | D.older people and young people |
The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians(古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.The aim of the mother’s plan was to _________.
A.take them to visit the museum |
B.introduce them to the world of art |
C.ask them to read about artists |
D.show them different painting styles |
What was the writer’s experience in the museum before the last visit?
A.She came to feel her mother’s love. |
B.She liked many paintings. |
C.She hardly enjoyed herself. |
D.She could understand the pictures of fat babies. |
What made the writer go through a change that summer?
A.One of Mary's paintings. |
B.A strange way of painting. |
C.Artists in the Middle Ages. |
D.Her mother’s instruction. |
From the text, we can see _________.
A.the importance of curiosity |
B.the effect of art |
C.the value of learning |
D.the power of family education |
The writer and her brother had thought that they could ___________ in their summer vacation.
A.visit some art museums |
B.go to Egypt for a visit |
C.take drawing or painting classes |
D.play with their friends. |