Picture a library without books? Well, I can’t. Ever since I was little I would go to the library and take out numerous books. From picture books to beginning chapter books to YA books, books have always been a part of my life. Unlike many people today, I don't own a Kindle or a Nook or any type of e-reader. I prefer the old-fashioned book. There is something about holding a book and being able to turn the pages that I find comforting. In today's 21st century, books may become obsolete. For me that's something I find scary.
I am a fan of the old TV science-fiction series Twilight Zone. One episode（一段情节）is about a librarian who has become obsolete. Though this episode aired in 1961, the writer of the series, Rod Serling was exactly on point when it came to predicting the future.
In fact, in San Antonio, Texas the first-ever bookless library in the country opened. The library is full of iMacs, tablets and iPads which cost a huge $2.3 million. The library offers around 10,000 e-books. So the question is, is this what the future will soon be? Mary Graham, vice president of South Carolina's Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce states, "This is the future…If you're going to be building new library facilities, this is what you need to be doing."
It is our generation that will be the guinea pigs（试验品）of increasing technology like this. Is this a good or bad thing? Well, digital libraries may help the environment by not using paper; however, I feel like something will always be lacking with a digital book. A digital library is just the beginning.
With all of this new technology, people seem to be more absorbed in their own world. One of my biggest complaints is when I am with my friends and they can't seem to get off their smart phone and talk to me. To make plans with a friend and then have them stuck on their phone the whole time is extremely rude. Not only is it disrespectful, but it reflects the direction of where human interactions are heading. Though social media is great, it also is addicting and has negative effects.
Often when I go on Facebook it just makes me feel worse about myself. I'll see many of my 800 Facebook friends showing off their newest accomplishment or acceptance to college. Additionally, our society is becoming increasingly lazy. For instance, instead of doing mental math, people use their phone to solve 89 + 74. It is simple tasks like these that are allowing people to lack important educational and social skills.
It is up to us to find a balance between technology and human values and interactions. With new technology being created every day, we need to learn how to use it alongside our great minds. After all, inventions are supposed to benefit society not harm it. In the day of technology, who knows what's next?
1.The underlined word "obsolete" (Paragraph l) is closest in meaning to .
A. outdated B. complex
C. expensive D. meaningless
2.What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?
A. The episode still enjoys great popularity nowadays.
B. Rod Serling liked making predictions about the future.
C. The situation of books today is similar to what Rod Serling predicted in the episode.
D. The episode airing in 1961 was the most entertaining of the TV science-fiction series.
3.What can we learn about the library in San Antonio, Texas?
A. It is the first-ever library in America.
B. It is of no practical use although it costs so much.
C. It holds an exhibition of much electronic equipment.
D. People can read e-books there with the help of the new facilities.
4.Which of the following will the writer probably disagree with?
A. Great as social media is, it does have some negative effects.
B. With the increasing use of social media, something will actually be lost.
C. Through social media, people can develop educational and social skills around.
D. As a result of social media, people may communicate less with the people around.
5.The tone of the passage is best described as .
A. Optimistic B. Skeptical
C. Supportive D. Objective
Below are some interesting columns from a website:
Girl’s Crazy Historical Costumes Stella Ehrhart, a US third-grader, dresses up as a different historical figure every day before school—yes, you heard right! The 8-year-old has been coming to class in a different persona (人物) daily since the second day of second grade, when she showed up as American author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Stella gets ideas for what to wear from the book 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century. However, in the past years she has also dressed up as fictional characters including Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. The eager student managed to get through the entire second grade without repeating herself, but now she is running out of ideas. The girl’s parents, who are both theater professionals, say they support their daughter’s “creativity”. Her mother told UK news website The Huffington Post, “She goes into her closet and just picks out what she wants each day.” Learning Soars How do you get a child’s early education off the ground? A head teacher in the Georgian city of Rustavi has found a unique way of creating an exciting learning environment. He has transformed a plane into a kindergarten. Gari Chapidze bought an old but functional Yakovlev Yak-42 from Georgian Airways and filled it with education equipment, games and toys, but left the cockpit (驾驶舱) untouched so it could be used as a play area. “The idea was to create a kindergarten where children go | with joy,” Chapidze, who runs the kindergarten, told AFP. “The children come in to the kindergarten with pleasure and cry when they have to go home. They are happy here,” he added. Taxi Driver Gets Lucky in Las Vegas Bright lights and big wins—this is what Las Vegas is known for, and even the taxi drivers here get lucky. Well, at least recently one did. Adam Woldemarim, 42, discovered $ 221,510 in the back of his van after a long day at work. The money was in a laptop case left between the seats of the Virgin Valley cab. What did Woldemarim do with the cash? He turned it in. The Ethiopian driver soon got a call from the case’s owner who, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had “won big” and was on his way to the airport when he realized he had forgotten his winnings. Woldemarim was given a $ 2,000 reward. But it was reported that the driver’s fellow taxi drivers thought he should have got a lot more. Eat Crickets (蟋蟀) and Worms at a Museum The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia is putting on a night for meat eaters who want to try some unusual foods. It is hosting a cocktail party on Oct 27 called Cuisine from the Collections. The food on the menu is inspired by the exhibited specimen (标本) at the museum. The event is for adults only. Let’s hope they don’t get a stomach bug from all the insects! |
1.Stella Ehrhart gets ideas on how to dress up every day before school from ________.
A. Laura Ingalls Wilder B. a book
C. Hermione Granger D. her parents
2.Which of the following is the biggest problem Stella Ehrhart is facing?
A. She has to get through the entire second grade dressing up as others.
B. She finds her parents no longer offer her as much support as before.
C. She finds it hard to think of enough new figures to dress up.
D. She has difficulty dressing up without falling behind in study.
3.Yakovlev Yak-42 is a certain kind of ________.
A. school B. company C. toy D. plane
4.According to the passage, the van driver ________.
A. was lucky to win a laptop case after a long day at work
B. was on his way to the airport when he saw the money
C. was given a reward but not quite satisfied with the sum
D. discovered the money but didn’t keep it for himself
Tens of thousands of ancient pictures carved into the rocks at one of France’s most important tourist sites are being gradually destroyed. Scientists and researchers fear that the 36,000 drawings on rocks in Mont Bego in the French Alps are being damaged so rapidly that they will not survive for future generations.
The mountain, believed to have once been a site for prayer, is scattered (散布) with 4,000-year-old drawings cut into bare rock. They include pictures of cows with horns, cultivated fields (耕地) and various gods and goddesses. But as the popularity of the site increases, the pictures are being ruined by thoughtless graffiti (涂鸦).
Jean Clottes is the chairman of the International Committee on Rock Art. He says, “People think that because the pictures have been there so long they will always continue to be there. But if the damage continues at this rate there will be nothing left in 50 years.”
He describes seeing tourists stamping on the drawings, wearing away the rock and definition (清晰) of the artwork as they do so. Some visitors, he says, even cut off parts to take home as souvenirs. “When people think they can’t take a good enough photograph, they rub the drawings to get a clearer picture,” he said. “The drawings are polished by the weather, and if the sun is shining and the visitors can’t see them properly they simply rub them to make them look fresher.” Other researchers describe how people arrive carrying long sticks with sharp ends to scratch (刮) their own drawings, or even their names, in the rocks.
But experts are divided over the best way to preserve the drawings. Henry de Lumley, director of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, believes that the only way to save the site is to turn the whole mountain into a “no-go” area, preventing the public from going there except on guided tours. Otherwise, he says, not only will the site be completely destroyed but important research work will be reduced.
Clottes disagrees, “The measure suggested by Henry de Lumley is the most severe, and while it is the most effective, it is also certain to bring about protests from people who live there,” he said. “The site was classified as a historic monument years ago by the Ministry of Culture, and we must do as much as possible to save what is there.”
David Lavergne, the regional architect, also wants to avoid closing the site. “Henry de Lumley’s idea isn’t ideal,” he said. “Our department feels that the best solution is to let people look at the site, but because the area is very big it is difficult to prevent visitors from damaging it. I would prefer that everyone was able to look at it, but the main problem is money. We do not have the funds to employ the necessary number of guards. We may have to consider charging a fee. It doesn’t seem to be possible to get the government support.”
In Nice, Annie Echassoux, who also worked on researching the site, is alarmed that as the mountain becomes easier to reach — tourists can now avoid the three-and-a-half-hour walk by hiring vehicles — the damage will increase rapidly. She thinks that the only solution is to rope off the area and provide guides. “You can’t say the plan can’t go ahead because there is no money,” she said. “That is not good enough. Money must be provided because the Ministry of Culture has classified this area as a historic site. If we don’t take steps, we will be responsible for losing the drawings for the next generation.”
1.Jean Clottes says that people who visit the mountain____.
A. do not believe the drawings are old.
B. believe they are allowed to paint there
C. think the drawings should be left alone
D. think the drawings will not disappear
2.According to Jean Clottes, some of the visitors to the area have____.
A. helped to clean the drawings
B. taken bits of the rock home
C. been unable to take photographs
D. misunderstood what the pictures mean
3.Henry de Lumley is eager to ____.
A. set up research projects
B. protect public rights
C. keep out individual visitors
D. ban traffic in the area
4.Which word best describes Annie Echassoux’s attitude towards saving the historic site?
A. Supportive. B. Disappointed.
C. Worried. D. Hesitant.
5.This passage has been written about Mont Bego to ____.
A. advertise the closing of the site
B. warn visitors about the dangers of the site
C. encourage scientists to visit the site
D. describe fears for the future of the site
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
As an intern (实习医生), I grew to understand that nursing home patients was a valuable part of my education — not just from a angle, but for what they could me personally.
Mr. Smith was my first introduction to the nursing home. His , regrettably, can probably exist in countless hospitals across our nation. An acute (严重的) illness had brought him to our nursing home years ago, and his family him shortly before he left hospital. Helpless and unable to care for himself, he had no except for nursing home care, he lay until I met him when I was an intern.
Mr. Smith was almost noncommunicative. After transferring to the nursing home, he slipped into a tense and state, waiting for his life to . All efforts to bring him back to the mainstream life were . Nurses faithfully tended to his physical needs, while he as a shell of flesh and bone, completely lacking in life. For three years, I saw him every week. Not once did I hear him speak a word. Not once could I his innermost thoughts.
On my last nursing home visit, an idea me. I brought my into Mr. Smith’s room as part of a(n) in “pet treatment”. Something occurred. All of a sudden, he sat up and started talking, telling me of the days when he was a boy and had a dog to my own.
He told me stories of adventures he and his dog had had. For the first time, I saw the soul from what had been a living corpse (尸体).
That experience taught me not to underestimate the ability of the things in life to touch hearts when carefully-made medicine has failed, and never to forget that within even the weakest of human bodies lies a life that is precious indeed — that needs to be and honored, even if it can’t speak for itself.
1.A. mental B. medical C. personal D. moral
2.A. guide B. assist C. teach D. move
3.A. condition B. position C. relation D. situation
4.A. greeted B. received C. boycotted D. abandoned
5.A. alternative B. dream C. means D. desire
6.A. which B. what C. unless D. where
7.A. lonely B. desperate C. calm D. exciting
8.A. form B. end C. renew D. develop
9.A. without meaning B. without doubt C. in vain D. in effect
10.A. looked B. left C. remained D. showed
11.A. get out B. pick out C. seek out D. figure out
12.A. struck B. occurred C. happened D. belonged
13.A. dog B. equipment C. medicine D. teacher
14.A. cure B. drug C. test D. experiment
15.A. puzzling B. amazing C. bothering D. disappointing
16.A. strange B. related C. similar D. familiar
17.A. renew B. awake C. appear D. step
18.A. simple B. hard C. strange D. difficult
19.A. something B. one C. anything D. the one
20.A. treated B. ignored C. respected D. cared
--- Thank you so much! How can I repay you for your kindness?
--- _____ . It was nothing.
A. It depends B. Forget it
C. Sounds great D. Never mind
--- What’s your idea?
--- My opinion is _____, _____ happens, we should not stop the reform.
A. when; what B. that; when
C. that; whatever D. when; what
