浙江天台平桥第二中学高三英语读写备考训练7.doc

浙江省天台县平桥第二中学2014届高三英语 上学期读写备考训练7 The internet will open up new vistas 前景, create the global village- -you can make new friends all around the world. That, at least, is what it promised us. The difficulty is that it did not take the human mind into account. The reality is that we cannot keep relationships with more than a limited number of people. No matter how hard the internet tries to put you in communication, its best efforts will be defeated by your mind. The problem is twofold（双重的）. First, there is a limit on the number of people we can hold in mind and have a meaningful relationship with. That number is about 150 and is set by the size of our brain. Second, the quality of your relationships depends on the amount of time you invest （投入） in them . We invest a lot in a small number of people and then distribute what’s left among as many others as we can. The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement with that person will decline（减弱）until eventually it dies into “someone I once knew”. This is not, of course, to say that the internet doesn’t serve a socially valuable function. Of course it does. But the question is not that it allows you to increase the size of your social circle to include the rest of the world, but that you can keep your relationships with your existing friends going even though you have to move to the other side of the world. In one sense, that’s a good thing. But it also has a disadvantage. If you continue to invest in your old friends even though you can no longer see them, then certainly you aren’t using your time to make new friends where you now live. And I suspect that probably isn’t the best use of your time. Meaningful relationships are about being able to communicate with each other, face to face. The internet will slow down the rate with which relationships end, but it won’t stop that happening eventually. 1. What is stressed in the first paragraph A. The present situation of the internet. B. The difficulty in communication on the internet. C. The socially valuable function of the internet. D. The role of the human mind in the internet communication. 2. The underlined word “engagement” in the second paragraph probably means “________”. A. appointment B. connection C. interview D. agreement 3. According to the passage , the author holds the view that________. A. the internet fails to play so valuable a role in communication as it promised B. the internet determines the quality of social relationships C. the internet greatly increases the size of social circles D. the internet communication is no less effective than the face-to-face talk 4. What is the author’s attitude towards the use of the internet to strengthen relationships A. He is uncertain about it. B. He is hopeful of it. C. He approves of it. D. He doubts it. B11GD In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animal. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy. From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, but sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others. Often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’s in them. Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning 按喇叭 or even shouting at me. At the moment I decided to do something I had never done in twenty-four years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed. No more angry shouts and no more horns When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak. 7. What did the other drivers do when they saw the flashlights A. They speed up to pass. B. They waited with patience. C. They tried their best to help. D. They put on their flashlights too. 8. In this passage, the author advises us to ______. A. handle problems by ourselves B. accept help from others C. admit our weakness D. show our bravery 9. Which of the following is the best title for the passage A. A Wheelchair Experience. B. Weakness and Kindness. C. Weakness an