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．attraction | B．advantage |
| 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 | B．Skeptical |
| C．Disapproving | D．Sympathetic |
Exhausted，covered in mud and desperately hungry，a team of Swedish athletes sat down for a meal as they prepared to take on a dangerous 20-mile trek through the Ecuadorian rainforest．
As they opened their canned meat，a tired Mikael Lindnord noticed a miserable stray dog staring at him out of the corner of his eye．
Feeling sorry for him，he fed the dog a meatball and thought nothing of it，but as the team stood up to continue their race the animal started to follow them—and he didn’t stop．
As the group of four navigated the final two stages of the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship，the dog befriended them and was eventually given the name Arthur．
Every tiring task the team face，Arthur would do the same．He swam alongside them while they kayaked down rivers，dragged himself up hills during hikes and pulled through knee—deep mud during treks．
Even when the team tried to get rid of their new member out of concerns for his safety—he refused to leave．This meant when he was tired they stopped for a break and when he got stuck in the mud they pulled him out．
After six days the team finished the race，and the dog had suffered．They therefore decided to take him to a vet(兽医)while still in South America to have him checked out．
During that time Lindord thought to himself that after their experience，they could not leave Arthur，so he decided to adopt him and take him back to Sweden．He applied to the Swedish Board of Agriculture and was made to wait to see if his application was successful．After a tense few days，the team arrived at the airport with Arthur and boarded the plane with him back home．
Lindord said：“I came to Ecuador to win the World Championship．Instead，I got a new friend．”After meeting the dog，the team ______________．
| A．abandoned the dog immediately |
| B．fed the dog with enough food |
| C．adopted the dog for convenience |
| D．continued the race with the dog |
Why did the team try to get rid of the dog during the race?
| A．They were concerned about his safety． |
| B．They couldn’t afford the race with him． |
| C．The dog was a burden to the team． |
| D．The dog couldn’t follow the team successfully． |
Which of the following can best describe the team?
| A．Friendly and caring． |
| B．Helpful and generous． |
| C．Risky and harsh． |
| D．Cautious and sensitive． |
What can we infer from the text？
| A．The dog was sad to have suffered from the race． |
| B．The team won the World Championship many times． |
| C．Lindord was overjoyed to befriend the dog． |
| D．The team felt tense to take Arthur to the airport． |
There are 67 counties in the state of Alabama. Each county is rich with history and its own unique stories. Colbert County, located in the northwest corner of the state, has its share of exciting stories and claims to statewide fame. The county was created on February 6, 1867, and Tuscumbia became the county seat (the town in which the offices of the county government are located).
One of the most famous residents of Tuscumbia was Helen Keller. Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880. Her home was a white frame cottage built by her grandparents. Since ivy (常春藤) grew everywhere, the house was called Ivy Green. It was here, at the water pump in the backyard, that Keller learned the word “w-a-t-e-r” with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Visitors to Ivy Green can walk under boxwood trees that are 150 years old. The home has furniture that the Keller family used. It also has Keller’s Braille (盲文) books and her original Braille typewriter.
Spring Park is Tuscumbia’s most popular park and favorite tourist attraction. This park has the world’s largest manufactured waterfall called Coldwater Falls. The Spring Park Light and Water Show is an amazing sight to see. It takes place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at sundown. The water appears to dance to music and colored lights. The music played during the show is recorded by singers and musicians from Alabama.
Fame Recording Studios is in the city of Muscle Shoals in Colbert County. The studio is the first successful recording studio in Alabama. It is best known for creating “Southern rock,” “Southern soul,” and “county soul.” Well-known performers like Aretha Franklin and musical groups such as Alabama and Lynyrd have made recordings at this studio.
Visitors can continue to explore music in Alabama by visiting the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. Built in 1990, this site recognizes the musical talents of more than 500 Alabama residents in a wide variety of musical styles, including country and rhythm and blues.
Truly, Colbert County has a lot of wonderful locations to visit. Guests will not be disappointed in a visit to this delightful place.Which of the following is TRUE about Alabama and music?
| A．Alabama musicians have established exhibits for visitors. |
| B．There are a great many talented musicians in Alabama. |
| C．Music is the most important industry in Alabama. |
| D．Alabama residents enjoy listening to music. |
How many locations related to music in Colbert County are mentioned in the text?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
The author writes the text mainly to persuade the reader __________.
| A．to learn from Helen Keller |
| B．to visit businesses in Alabama |
| C．to stop for a visit in Colbert County |
| D．to listen to Southern styles of music |
The text is most probably taken from __________.
| A．a story book | B．a book review |
| C．a personal diary | D．a travel magazine |
| NEMS |
NEWRI Environmental Master of Science |
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| NEWRI: Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute |
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| Be a leader in environmental science and engineering through the NEMS programme |
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| NEWRI Environmental Master of Science (NEMS) is a primary graduate education and research programme conducted by Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU’s) NEWRI, with summer attachment at Stanford University. It aims to train engineers and scientists to meet the increasing environmental challenges for Asia and the wider region. |
NEWRI-Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute NEWRI is enabling Singapore to be a global center of environmental science and technology in providing technological solutions to the world. It is committed to environmental and water technologies through its ecosystem of education, research and developmental activities. NEWRI is trying its best to pull together NTU’s water and environment-related centers and institutes, gathering one another’s strengths for the benefit of industry and society. |
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| Master of Science Applications ● Applications open now and close on 30 May 2013 for Singapore applicants. ● Graduates having relevant engineering or science background, including final-year students, are invited to apply. ● Applicants are required to have a certificate of GRE. Further information and application materials are available at the Website: http:// www. Cee.ntu.edu.sg/Graduate/NEMS |
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| Highlights of Programme: ★ Students spend a full summer term at Stanford taking regular courses and continue with the rest of their academic programme at NTU. ★ It is a 12-month full-time course in environmental science & engineering. ★Students under NEMS will have opportunities to do research projects under NEWRI as well as to continue for the Doctor’s degree. ★ Graduating students receive the NTU degree and a certificate from Stanford for their summer attachment. |
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| Scholarship for tuition grants and living expenses at both Stanford and NTU are available |
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| Enquiry contact: Ms Christian Soh Tel：(65) 6861 0507 Fax:(65) 68614606 Email: nems@ntu.edu.sg Information on other graduate programmes available at： www.ntu.edu.sg/cee/program/postgrad.asp |
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If one wants to apply for the NEMS programme, it is essential for him to __________.
| A．make contact with Ms Soh |
| B．have passed the GRE test |
| C．possess a university diploma |
| D．major in engineering or science |
Students admitted to the NEMS Programme __________.
| A．are required to obtain a Doctor’s degree |
| B．will first have regular courses at Stanford |
| C．needn’t be released from their regular jobs |
| D．can receive degrees of both NTU and Stanford |
What’s the main purpose of the NEMS programme?
| A．To offer scholarship for tuition grants and living expenses. |
| B．To strengthen the cooperation between NTU and Stanford. |
| C．To introduce Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute. |
| D．To train experts on environmental science and engineering. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．30 May 2012 is the deadline for NEMS application. |
| B．Applicants for NEMS should have relevant work experience. |
| C．Other centers and institutes for environmental and water technologies also exist in NTU |
| D．Singapore is the global center of environmental science and technology. |
A study of more than five million books, both fiction and non-fiction, has found a marked decline in the use of emotional words over time. The researchers form the University of Bristol used Google Ngram Viewer, a facility for finding the frequency of terms in scanned books, to search for more than 600 particular words identified as representing anger, dislike, fear, joy, sadness and surprise.
They found that almost all of the categories showed a drop in these “mood words” over time. Only in the category of fear was there an increase in usage.
“It is a steady and continuous decrease,” said Dr Alberto Acerbi. He assumed that the result might be explained by a change in the position occupied by literature, in a crowded media landscape. “One thing could be that in parallel to books the 20th century saw the start of other media. Maybe these media — movies, radio, drama, had more emotional content than books.”
Although both joy and sadness followed the general downwards trend, the research, published in the journal PLOS One, found that they also exhibited another interesting behaviour：the ratio (比率) between the two varied greatly, apparently mirroring historical events.
During the Roaring Twenties the joy-to-sadness ratio reached a peak that would not occur again until before the recent financial crash. But the ratio plunged at the height of the Second World War. Nevertheless, the researchers held a reserved opinion about their claim that their result reflected wider social trends. In the paper, they even argue that the reverse could be true.
“It has been suggested, for example, that it was the suppression (压抑) of desire in ordinary Elizabethan English life that increased demand for writing ‘filled with romance and sex’… perhaps,” they conclude, “songs and books may not reflect the real population any more than catwalk models reflect the average body.”
The word "decline" (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to_________.
| A．increase | B．rise | C．decrease | D．change |
A study of more than five million books indicated a decrease in “mood words” over time except_______.
| A．in the use of the words of historical events |
| B．in the category of fear |
| C．in the category of literature |
| D．in the category of joy |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．A study of emotional words. |
| B．A study about vocabulary in literature. |
| C．Reasons for the use of emotional words decreases in literature. |
| D．A study on increase in the category of fear. |
“Don't worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain.
Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.
On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon (泻湖) side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?
The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."
Then he added, “That's the way it is with every living organism.”
That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"
Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.Who has no problems according to the passage?
| A．The persons who are very famous. |
| B．The persons who have much money. |
| C．The persons who have been born. |
| D．The persons who are living in the cemeteries. |
In the writer's opinion, ________.
| A．problems bring us much trouble |
| B．problems have two sides, good or bad |
| C．we should try to stay away from any trouble |
| D．the fewer things we do, the less trouble we'll meet |
The reason why lagoon side of the reef has no life is _______.
| A．it hasn't got any sunlight |
| B．it has less energy than others |
| C．it never faces any challenge and tests |
| D．it has no work to do every day |
After reading this passage, we should ________.
| A．regard any problem as challenge |
| B．learn from the lagoon side |
| C．worry your problem |
| D．enter into cemeteries |