Question

I no longer run for the mail the way I used to. I remember, prior to the e-mail age, the sense of heightened expectation as the hour of mail delivery approached, wondering what slender(微薄的), handwritten treasures would appear in my box. I once received a letter from a long-lost friend and swelled with such joy that I ran the mail carrier down and shook his hand, as if he had done a heroic deed in conveying the missive to me.

I first learned to love the mail as a young boy. The first thing I ever received that was personally addressed to me was from my friend Duane. We had been the closest of 9-year-old boys. Then he moved away, to Massachusetts. The parting was difficult, but boys didn’t cry.

Within the week, however, there was a letter in my mailbox. It was from Duane, and it read, “I’m OK, but I miss you.” That first conveyance to me of a written word from a great distance had all the significance of the first Morse code message: “What hath God wrought.” It was at that moment that I became a letter writer, quickly discovering that the more letters I wrote, the more I received.

I wrote letters through elementary school, high school, college, and beyond. It got to the point where I could comfortably expect to receive a letter a day. The daily mail delivery was for me, like a beacon at sea – something toward which my thoughts began to move upon waking. What quickened my blood, of course, was the element of surprise: From whom would the letter be today? And what would the news be?

And then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, the earth shifted. E-mail had arrived. Despite being fascinated by the new technology, I promised myself that I would never stop writing letters by hand. However, I had no control over the habits of others, and slowly, inexorably(不可阻拦地), and then with quickened pace, the letters disappeared from my mailbox, having been replaced with electronic “messages” , a totally different beast —in contrast to letters, all e-mails look alike.

1.The author used to run for the mail mainly because         .

A. he took great interest in mail delivery

B. he was looking forward to receiving letters

C. he tried to keep mail delivery from approaching

D. he wanted to thank the mailman for his heroic deed

2.What made the author become a letter writer?

A. A letter from a long –lost friend.

B. The desire to receive more letters.

C. The joy of reading the first letter from Duane.

D. The influence of the first Morse code message.

3.By writing the underlined sentence in Para. 4, the author tells us that the daily mail delivery        .

A. meant a lot to him

B. wasted much of his time

C. quickened his thoughts

D. divided his attention

4.What’s the author’s opinion about e-mails?

A. They completely changed the world.

B. They brought about new technology.

C. They affected human relationship.

D. They lost the unique features of letters.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析:我很久都没有在信箱和家两地来回奔波了。在我小时候，写信是很平常的事。我曾与分隔的朋友通信。但是不久以后，电子邮件出现了，所有的电子邮件都长的一个样子，我失去了原来阅读纸质信件的快乐。

1.B细节理解题。根据文章第一段I remember, prior to the e-mail age, the sense of heightened expectation as the hour of mail delivery approached, wondering what slender(微薄的), handwritten treasures would appear in my box.可知，作者是希望收到信件，故选B。

2.C细节理解题。根据文章第三段 It was at that moment that I became a letter writer, quickly discovering that the more letters I wrote, the more I received.可知是朋友Duane的第一封信是我变成了一个爱写信并且能写好信的人，故选C。

3.A句意猜测题 。根据The daily mail delivery was for me, like a beacon at sea – something toward which my thoughts began to move upon waking.可知信件对我就像是海上的信号灯，信件对我的意义重大，故选A。

4.

考点：考查科技发展类阅读