Recently the barbican museum in London held an exhibition called the rain room. During the time this exhibition was open, my twitter stream was filled with photos of people standing in the rain room, accompanied by the caption “rain room@ the barbican!” and a location attachment to prove that they were indeed in the rain room.
This got me thinking. What were people actually saying by Tweeting about their visit? I think all they were doing was fulfilling the obligation that we have to share. Not sharing in the sense of treasuring a moment with people close to us, but sharing in the sense of “tell the world that I am doing a thing”.
It’s not sharing; it’s showing off. When we log in to Facebook or Twitter we see an infinitely updating stream of people enjoying themselves. It’s not real life, because people only post about the good things whereas all the dull or deep stuff doesn’t get mentioned. But despite this obvious fact, it subconsciously makes us feel like everyone is having a better time than us.
This is the curse of our age. We walk around with the tools to capture extensive data about our surroundings and transmit them in real-time to every friend we’ve made. We end up with a reduced understanding of reality because we’re more concerned about choosing a good Instagram filter(过滤器) for our meal than how it tastes.
I don’t think that it’s inherently wrong to want to keep the world updated about that you’re doing. But when you go through life robotically posting about everything you do, you’re not a human being. You’re just a prism that takes bits of light and sound and channels them into the cloud.
The key thing to remember is that you are not enriching your experiences by sharing them online; you are detracting from them because all your efforts are focused on making the look attractive to other people. Once you stop seeing things through the eyes of the people following you on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, you can make your experiences significant, because you were there and you saw the sights and smelled the smells and heard the sounds, not snapped a photo of it through a half-inch camera lens.
1.What do we learn from the first two paragraphs?
A. Rain Room exhibition received a large audience in London.
B. Most of people feel obligated to share their experience with friends.
C. Many people want to inform others of their experience by Tweeting.
D. All people having gone to the Rain Room took pictures.
2.It seems to the author that ___________.
A. Facebook or Twitter is a good place where we share personal experience
B. people seldom show depressing stuff on the social networking websites
C. most of people tend to show off that they are having a better time than others
D. sharing experience on the social networking websites is not real life
3.By talking of “a good Instagram filter for our meal” (Line 3-4, Para.4), the author wants to show _____________.
A. we are surrounded by various tools to capture our daily data
B. we are more concerned about how our life seems to be to others
C. we transmit our experience immediately to everybody we know
D. we gain more extensive perception of reality with digital tools
4.What suggestion does the author give in the last paragraph?
A. Enrich your experiences by sharing them online.
B. Make efforts to make your life attractive to others.
C. Stop showing your personal experience.
D. Record the details of what you see, smell and hear.
IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world’s most successful enterprisers. Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman. As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades. Naturally he used it to start up a business—IKEA.
IKEA’s name comes from Kamprad’s initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up (‘E’ and ‘A’). Today IKEA is known for its modern, minimalist furniture, but it was not a furniture company in the beginning. Rather, IKEA sold all kinds of miscellaneous goods.
Kamprad’s goods included anything that he could sell for profits at discounted prices, including watches, pens and stockings.
IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order catalogue in 1947. The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad’s home. Initial sales were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line．Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became solely a furniture company in 1951.
In 1953 IKEA opened its first showroom in Almhult, Sweden. IKEA is known today for its large stores with furniture in attractive settings, but in the early1950s, people ordered from catalogues. Thus response to the first showroom was overwhelming: people loved being able to see and try the furniture before buying it. This led to increased sales and the company continued to develop. By 1955, IKEA was designing all its own furniture.
In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling(拆卸) a table to make it easier to transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales went up. The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA. Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having connotations(内涵) of self-sufficiency. This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better sales and continued expansion．
Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company. In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man. He currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA. IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing.
1.The author states in Paragraph 6 that flat packaging___________.
A. needs large space to assembly furniture
B. is a business concept inspired by Kamprad
C. helps reduce transportation costs
D. makes the company self-sufficient
2.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Ingvar Kamprad is the richest man in the world.
B. IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer.
C. The advantage of IKEA’s furniture is dissembling.
D. Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and led it to great success.
3.What is the author’s attitude towards IKEA’s future according to the last paragraph?
A. Indifferent B. Optimistic
C. Doubtful D. Pessimistic
When a consumer finds that an item she or he bought is faulty or in some other way does not the manufacturer's claims, the first step is to present the guarantee, or any other records which might help, at the store of purchase. In most cases, this action will results. , if it does not, there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction.
A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain directly to the store manager. , the “higher up” his or her complaint, the faster he or she can expect it to be settled. In such a case, it is usually settled in the consumer's , supposing he or she has a just claim. Consumers should complain person whenever possible, but if they cannot get to the place of purchase, it is to phone or write the complaint in a letter.
Complaining is usually most effective when it is done but firmly, and especially when the consumer can what is wrong with the item in question. If this cannot be done, the consumer will best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong, by making general statements. For example, “The left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear” is better than “This stereo does not work”.
The store manager may advise the consumer to write to the manufacturer. If so, the consumer should do this, stating the as politely and firmly as possible. If a polite complaint does not achieve the result, the consumer can go to a step . She or he can threaten to take the seller to court or report the seller to a private or public organization for protecting consumer's rights.
1.A. live up to B. keep up with C. look up to D. catch up with
2.A. know B. produce C. ask D. make
3.A. Instead B. Moreover C. Otherwise D. However
4.A. In conclusion B. In general C. In fact D. In reality
5.A. favor B. need C. benefit D. advantage
6.A. of B. for C. in D. to
7.A. possible B. important C. acceptable D. likely
8.A. politely B. rudely C. strictly D. comfortably
9.A. tell B. describe C. modify D. present
10.A. forgive B. fail C. work D. succeed
11.A. better than B. more than C. rather than D. other than
12.A. worry B. complaint C. curiosity D. suggestions
13.A. ordered B. devoted C. adapted D. desired
14.A. further B. more C. farther D. additionally
15.A. ready B. suitable C. good D. responsible
________ you make a mistake, you should not be embarrassed. After all, we are human beings.
A. Should B. Would C. Had D. Were
Medical doctors sometimes can make mistakes ______ will cost ______
A. that; patients their lives
B. what; patients their lives
C. which; patients for their lives
D. that; patients with their lives
Many people have applied for a job with our company, but we only have one or two ______ positions at the moment.
A. empty B. vacant
C. permanent D. adequate
