Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality.
People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological（病态的）relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．advantage | B．attraction | C． adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral.( 中立的） | B．Doubtful |
| C．Disapproving.(不赞成） | D．Sympathetic.（同情的） |
At Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it’s sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun.
A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering building has built-in blinds (百叶窗) controlled by a computer program that follows the sun’s path. Buildings are getting smarter and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.
Windows could catch the sun’s energy to heat water. Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide breathed out by people in a room could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.
Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years. They are now being used in a wave o
f buildings designed to save as much energy as possible. They include old ideas, like “green roofs”, where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer, and new ideas, like special coating for windows that lets light in, but keeps heat out.
As technologies such as sensors become cheaper, their uses spread.
The elevators (电梯) at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor, readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.
M
ore new building materials and technology are in development. A Philadelphia building firm is now working on “smart wrap” that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the sun’s energy and transmitters (传输器) as wide as a human hair to move it. They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.________ will be developed and used in the construction industry.
| A．“Green roofs” that cool or heat buildings |
| B．“Smart wrap” that catches the sun’s energy |
C．Sunlight-measurin g sensors that control lights |
| D．Window coating that lets light in, but keeps heat out |
The elevators at Seven World Trade Center are special because they can ________.
A．se nd people to floors with fewer stops |
B．teach people how to use their ID cards |
| C．make people stay very cool in summer | D．help people go traveling in the building |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
| A．a human hair | B．smart wrap | C．the sun’s energy | D．a transmitter |
What might be the most suitable title for the text?
| A．Buildings Are Becoming Smarter | B．Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight |
| C．Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy | D．Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials |
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend. But some women show great interest in colorful beads（珠子）from Uganda made of recycled paper. The beads are sold by a nonprofit organization called BeadforLife.
BeadforLife began as a chance meeting between three American women on a trip to Uganda and a local jewelry maker. Millie Grace Akena was rolling paper beads near her home. She made paper beads as a hobby. But there was no real market in her country. 
Torkin Wakefield says she and her daughters Devin and Ginny brought some of the beads back home. Immediately people started admiring the beads. The three Americans started BeadforLife in 2004. Nearly 700 women have taken part.
The group says its beaders earn an average of more than 2,000 dollars a year in the program. This is five times what they earned before. The beads are sold across Uganda and in Boulder, Colorado. They are also sold online and at jewelry shows called bead parties. “Because they have meaning, because these are gifts that help people, when folks in America and beyond buy our beads, they feel a sense of generosity. They feel a direct connection, like they can really take part in getting rid of poverty.” Torkin said.
The jewelry costs between five and thirty dollars. BeadforLife reported sales in its last budget year of more that 3.5 million dollars. It says for every ten-dollar necklace sold, the beader gets two dollars and forty-three cents in money or materials. It says more than 90% of earnings are reinvested in community development projects in Uganda. Torkin Wakefield estimates that BeadforLi
fe has helped more than 8,000 people this way.
So what about Millie Grace Akena, the jewelry maker? Mrs Wakefield says she has gone on to organize a small group of women who work with her, and they sell their beads to a religious group. According to the passage, BeadforLife is an organization that ______.
| A．provides poor people worldwide with free education |
| B．mainly encourages people to learn to earn a living on their own |
| C．has attracted many businessmen to invest in beading |
| D．supports community development projects in Uganda |
When Torkin Wakefield brought the beads to America, ______.
| A．she didn’t know people would like them |
| B．she wanted to make a fortune out of them |
| C．people showed great interest in them at once |
| D．she was thinking of how to find investors |
According to Paragraph 4, the beads are popular because ______.
| A．people think buying them is a good way to help the poor |
| B．they are of good quality and can be kept for a long time |
| C．they symbolize the most important thing in people’s life |
| D．they look even more beautiful than diamonds |
Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?
A．Mrs Wakefield makes a great contribution to developing count ries. |
| B．BeadforLife makes beads out of recycled paper. |
| C．BeadforLife uses paper beads to improve people’s lives. |
| D．Mrs Wakefield’s career takes off thanks to paper beads. |
Flying across the globe, whether on business or for leisure, is usually effortless——you just have to book your ticket, pack your bags and show up at the airport with your passport. You board the plane and several cocktails and movies later, you arrive at your destination, and hopefully, your baggage does too. Here are some tips on how to be a clever traveler.
Easy check-in
Avoid the queue and check yourself in by using the MAS Web Check-In (malaysiaairlines.com) in the comfort of your own home or office. Passengers can now check in online anytime from 24 hours to 90 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. This is available for flights departing from all MAS stations ——except Paris, Kunming, Xiamen and Bandar Seri Begawan——to all MAS destinations. You can even select preferred seats online.
Bag hygiene
No, we’re not talking about the cleanliness of your bags! It’s the aviation talk for a bag that doesn’t carry any old baggage tags with barcodes that could confuse the baggage sensor（传感器）.
If you find yourself arriving in Sydney while your bag lands in Tokyo, it could be because of your old baggage tag. Another reason why bags go missing could be the printing quality of the barcode; bags are misdirected because the sensors can’t re
ad the codes correctly.
Less is more
Most airports around the world now set a weight limit of 32kg per piece of baggage. This will not only help protect the airline workers’ health, but also be easier for you to carry your bags around.
Avoid packing dangerous goods or placing valuables inside your check-in luggage. Ensure that locks are properly secured as a lot of baggage locks are found caught between the conveyor belts（传送带）. Smaller and softer bags are usually placed inside a tra
y at check-in to protect the locks from contact with the conveyor belt. According to the passage, airplane passengers ______.
| A．can check in without going to the airport |
| B．have to check in 90 minutes earlier |
| C．are required to check in on the MAS web |
| D．can select their favorite seats when getting aboard |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “hygiene” in the passage?
| A．Disappearance. | B．Protection. |
| C．Check. | D．Cleanliness. |
Why does baggage sometimes go missing according to the passage?
a. The bags are too old and dirty.
b. The sensors can’t read the barcodes correctly.
c. The old tag is still on the bag.
d. The bags are too heavy to check.
| A．a, b | B．b, c | C．c, d | D．b, d |
Which of the following statements is TRUR about check-in baggage?
| A．Each piece can weigh 30 kg at the most. |
| B．Smaller and softer bags should be separated from other ones. |
| C．Valuable things should be kept inside a tray. |
| D．Bags containing dangerous things can be caught on the conveyor belts. |
Besides containing attractive flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community, eco-friendly rain gardens are healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby.
A rain garden is not very different from a traditional garden. It is just a far more eco-friendly garden. Usually it is built lower than the ground. Rain gardens make smart use of rain and storm water by temporarily holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply.
Thus, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rat
her than flowing immediately into nearby streams and going unused. The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes to breed. This is a simple, attractive, and eco-friendly “green” way to treat storm water.
What’s more, planting a rain garden helps reduce pollution and improve the environment. Without using expensive machinery and chemicals, rain gardens remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and cut down on the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%.
Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the local climate, soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden immediately after planting and once a week, unless you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. Once the native plants establish the necessary root system, it will require little care.
Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks as a way to improve the environment and solve flooding problems. However, you don’t need to be a professional environmental engineer to create a rain garden. As long as you’re eco-conscious homeowners, you can help the environment by building smaller rain gardens in your yards. Which of the following is the eco-friendly function of rain gardens discussed in Paragraph 4?
| A．They can keep the rain and storm water. |
| B．They can help reduce the pollution problem. |
| C．They can be healthy for the people around. |
| D．They can make the environment more beautiful. |
One of the main reasons why native plants are recommended is that ______.
| A．they cost less and are much easier to get |
| B．they may attract local wildlife to come |
| C．they require little care from the local gardeners |
| D．they are more used to the local growing conditions. |
We can infer from the passage that after native plants are planted, rain gardens ______.
| A．need little water |
| B．need little care |
| C．need to be watered every day |
| D．needn’t be watered if there is at least an inch of rainwater per week |
A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石)，mammoths and mastodons， the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct spec
ies for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950 all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先)for conservation purpose .”One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.
| A．the Asian elephant | B．the forest elephant |
| C．the savanna elephant | D．the mastodon elephant |
The underlined word “divergence” in paragraph 4means “________”
| A．evolution | B．exhibition | C．separation | D．examination |
The researcher’s conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s _____
| A．DNA | B．height | C．weight | D．population |
What were Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
| A．The conservation of African elephants. |
| B．The purpose of studying African elephants |
| C．The way to divide African elephants into two units |
| D．The reason for the distinction of African elephants |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants. |
| B．Amazing Experiment about Elephants |
| C．An Unexpected Finding about Elephants |
| D．A Long scientific Debate about Elephants |