Online Communication

In an age when technology moves faster than most can keep up with, a small group of people still remain in the time of old-fashioned letter. Frankly speaking, I was once certain that traditional letters could never be replaced by other means of communication.

But a story about online communication changed my mind.

An old man, who suffered a lot from Parkinson’s disease, was not able to talk clearly and could hardly write his name. Living totally alone, he managed to keep in touch with nearly all the members of his family. How did he achieve this? He clicked out words on his computer keyboard.

I, therefore, managed to get an E-mail box as soon as the opportunity came. My life changed. E-mail, and all online communication, is something truly different. It has capabilities（能力） that few other products can match.

E-mail is convenient. It takes less time with its fast speed and 24-hour connection. The slow postal service is no match. If you wouldn’t want to have a face-to-face talk with your manager, you might talk with him through E-mail even if you are in the same office.

Naming all the good things about online communication is not easy. But wait. E-mail can be inconvenient. It can waste time and energy. Just think what may happen when you take a short vacation and return to find your e-mail box filled with 200 unread messages. You could easily spend half a day clearing junk ads.

Then, online communication will keep us staying at our computer while it connects us to distant strangers. Once we throw ourselves into the machine, we may forget the human touches we once held so dear. I’m sure there is and always will be a place for the old-fashioned letter, phone call, and face-to-face meeting… even in the world of modern communication.

As I listen to the sound of the modem(调制解调器), I was excited at stepping out to the outside world but, at the same time, I sensed a loss of control over something valuable in my personal life.

1.What is the most probable meaning of the underlined word “junk” in paragraph6?

A. old and useless   B. New and useful   C. Short but valuable     D. Long but clear

2.What does the writer think of online communication?

A. It should replace old-fashioned letters completely.

B. It is perfect and always does good to you.

C. It is extremely useful and convenient, but it may be inconvenient or even harmful.

D. It does more harm than good.

3.What caused the writer to become interested in E-mail and online communication?

A. The sound of the modem.           B. His own illness.

C. The changing of his life.            D. A sick old man’s experience.

4.According to the writer, traditional means of communication will never disappear because ________.

A. they are convenient and popular though they are slow

B. they help to keep the friendly relationship between people

C. most people cannot keep up with the development of technology

D. modern means of communication does too much harm

5.How did the sick old man keep in touch with his family members?

A. With the help of his computer.        B. By writing letters with his pen.

C. By making telephone calls.          D. By visiting them regularly.

 

It's killed at least two dozen people, damaged hundreds of homes, cost some 22 billion Yuan in direct economic losses so far and has left thousands of family-bound travelers stranded. The massive snow and ice storm that has swept through the southern part of China has put this country into full disaster management mode. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been activated and the government has already provided 126 million Yuan in aide to six provinces in the south slammed by the unexpected winter blast. But is enough being done? And what else can be done to ensure that the effects of natural disasters like the one in southern China are minimized in the future?

“Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at www.crienglish.com here on China Radio International. In this edition of the show, we'll be talking about the southern China snow and ice storm. So let's get started.

First, let's get a Chinese perspective of how well the ice and snow storm in southern China is being handled from a logistical point of view. For this we're joined on the line by Professor Peng Xizhe, Dean of the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Fudan University in Shanghai.

(Dialogue with Peng)

    And after a short break, we'll talk about the broader view of disaster management.”

   “Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at www.crienglish.com here on China Radio International. I'm Paul James in Beijing. In this edition of the show, we're talking about the massive winter storm that has ravaged southern China. For a broader look at disaster management, we're joined on the line now by Mr. Aloysius Rego and Ms. Jiang Lingling, both with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Thailand.

(Dialogue with Jiang and Rego)

    And with that we close out this edition of People In the Know, online at www.crienglish.com here on China Radio International. Though it may seem small consolation now for the thousands who remain stranded because of the storm, it's important to remember that as long as patience prevails, you will get home. Questions or comments for us can be sent to crieng@crifm.com. For Executive Director Wang Lei and Producers Yang Jingjie and Xu Yang, I'm Paul James in Beijing. Take care.”

What style does this passage according to?

   A. 说明文   B. 议论文   C. 描写文   D. 新闻报道

What’s the main idea of this article?

   A. Tell the stories about the snow storm in the southern part of China

   B. Tell us some facts about the people in the disaster.

   C. What have been done or will be done to rescue the people in the disaster.

   D. Let’s know the measures about the disaster.

How many people died from the snow disaster before this report?

   A. more than 30    B. more than 24    C. many    D. 50

 

It seems some people have something bad to say about Facebook, the social media website that now has attracted more than 300 million members. To them I have only this to say: Stop please!
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal blamed Facebook’s ability to ruin friendships, saying that it limits communication to typing and encourages people to spend far too much time with friends they have never met.
Having used Facebook since its first year, I find these arguments false. The simple truth is that the problems are only a symptom of Facebook abuse. Like many things, it is only as harmful to your life and relationships as you allow it to be. Consider arguments against watching too much TV and overeating.
Try using Facebook to find friends who may have long ago changed their e-mail addresses and phone numbers, to find out what your old college friends are up to, to congratulate your friends on their latest birthdays, to share pictures and articles you find interesting, and to join in the discussion about them with your friends.
Sure, I had days when I wasted a little more time on Facebook than I should, but I’m not going to blame Facebook for my own laziness. If Facebook wasn’t there, I would have found something else to waste time on. To my “friends”: if you don’t feel like broadcasting your life stories on your Facebook, don’t. If you tire of my personal updates, ignore them. If you don’t want to join in the popular online games, don’t. It is a fun tool at your fingers that can be used for both good and bad. If you don’t like using Facebook, don’t.
I am now a consultant at the Department of State. I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, and colleagues who live and work all over the world.
【小题1】Why did the article in the Wall Street Journal blame Facebook?

A．Because it makes people spend too much time online.

B．Because it can make people lose their real-life friends.

C．Because it is as harmful to people’s lives as watching TV.

D．Because it encourages people to make friends with strangers.

【小题2】What does the author suggest using Facebook to do?

A．To find out lost e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

B．To arrange appointments with our old college friends.

C．To collect interesting pictures and articles from our friends.

D．To keep in touch with friends who we haven’t called for long.

【小题3】We can imply from the passage that by using Facebook we can ____.

A．read other’s personal updates

B．write our life stories online secretly

C．decide who can read our life stories

D．refuse to join in popular online games

【小题4】The author writes the last paragraph to ____.

A．prove that Facebook can be well used

B．gain support from the Department of State

C．show that Facebook is used all around the world

D．introduce how she uses Facebook in her work as a consultant

For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!

The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.

Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.

If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.

1.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.

A．take photos                            B．find a solution to the project   

C．hop along the path                         D．cheer herself up   

2.The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________.".

A．unsuccessful       B．unrelated    C．uninteresting       D．unexpected   

3.In the author's opinion, __________.

A．a bath can make people relaxed   

B．depression is usually caused by hard work   

C．walking in a busy city centre harms people's health   

D．adults should express their inner feelings freely   

4.The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.

A．explanation         B．suggestion     C．introduction D．reminder