Question

The malls were filled with people seeking gifts for their loved ones. Some of the malls remained open around the clock, partly to satisfy our needs to buy gifts.

Behind the materialistic aspect of shopping for gifts lies the idea of caring, being attentive to the desires of special people in our lives. However, to use a well-worn play on words: it is our presence, not our presents that truly counts. Many of us, unfortunately, can be so inattentive, even in the presence of our loved ones, that we might as well not be there at all.

Attention is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other. Companies around the globe spend billions every year on advertising to catch our attention for just a short moment at a time. Whole industries – media, entertainment, education – rely on the precious gift of our attention for their continued existence. A baby lacking attention for a long time is likely to mentally unhealthy.

In earlier times, both diet and attention could be left unregulated without major cause for concern. There were natural checks and balances: limited availability of food meant few got fat, for example. Similarly, in bygone times we might have spent a few hours communicating with the village storyteller, today, watching an entire TV series, while speaking to nobody, is common. In traditional societies, with smaller population, everyone would get a fair deal of attention. On many issues we might go to see Grandma or Grandpa; now we have Google and Wikipedia.

“She just wants attention.” people tend to think little of those doing things simply for attention. But the truth is that human beings need attention, and giving attention to each other is, to a large extent, what human civilization is based upon. This perhaps explains the runaway success of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. While we use such sites for “micro blogging”, “idea voicing” and “status updates” – the reality is that we are often doing no more or less than fulfilling our basic human drive for attention exchange.

I friend you, you friend me, I retweet you, you retweet me. The charming case with which we can now get and give attention is why many people appear overly attached to their smart phones. It is also a vicious circle(恶性循环). As ever more people are busy exchanging attention online, there is increasingly less attention to be paid in the real world, which forces more people to seek their attention exchange online, or else risk attention-starvation.

The very nature of attention exchange is being rapidly transformed, and there is a danger that some of us will develop unhealthy practices. Just as eating red meat every day is a bad idea, so it is with too much attention exchange. The biological consequences of our technological advancement in food production are highly visible; heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The consequences of our transformed attention exchanges will be psychological and social, and so may take longer to identify, but they will be equally damaging.

Face-to-face attention is becoming rarer, and therefore more valuable. In a sense it is priceless. And it is a gift that can be given all-year-round.

1.People use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to.

A. obtain information    B. give attention to others

C. voice their opinions    D. notice and get noticed

2.From Paragraph 6-7 we can infer_______.

A. more people will risk attention-starvation in future.

B. the nature of attention exchange is rarely changed.

C. technological advancement contributes to all diseases.

D. transformed attention exchanges do harm to society.

3.In traditional societies attention exchange was not a major concern because of ________.

A. limited availability of food    B. the guidance from old people

C. natural checks and balances    D. a much smaller population

4.The passage is mainly intended to.

A. call for more focus on real life attention

B. analyze the necessity of attention giving

C. give practical tips on attention exchange

D. recommend some social networking sites

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。文章叙述了在信息发展快速的年代，由于网络的普及，人们都非常关注网上交友聊天，而很少亲自去关心看望自己的亲戚朋友，作者最后指出我们要提倡多进行面对面的交流和沟通。

1.细节理解题。根据giving attention to each other is, to a large extent, what human civilization is based upon. This perhaps explains the runaway success（一举成功）of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.人们要互相关注，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据The consequences of our transformed attention exchanges will be psychological and social, and so may take longer to identify, but they will be equally damaging.这种做法会给社会带来危害，故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据The very nature of attention exchange is being rapidly transformed, and there is a danger that some of us will develop unhealthy practices. The consequences of our transformed attention exchanges will be psychological and social, and so may take longer to identify, 故选C。

4.写作意图题。根据要更多的人去关注现实生活，故选A。