阅读理解

　　With the development of science and technology, most of us will comment：“Life is speeding up．Everyone is getting unwell．”

　　This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in 53 AD wrote it．

　　We all love new inventions．They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives．But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?

　　Picture this, you're rushing to finish your homework on the computer．Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, and the noise from the television is getting louder and louder．Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work．Now you have to stay up all night to get it done．How calm and happy do you feel?

　　Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired．Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, even no electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives．

　　One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today．The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house．They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones．

　　The grandmother, Lynn said, “It was hard physically, but not mentally．” She believed life was less materialistic．“The more things you have the more difficult life becomes．” She said．The boys said they found less to fight over, such as their computer．Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy, beer- drinking granny to one who cooked things”．

　　Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!

　　●Don't be available all the time．Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day．Don't check your emails every day．

　　●Make sure you spend some time talking to your family．Set aside one evening a week when you don't turn on the television．Play cards and chat instead．

　　●Get a low-tech hobby．Every day，do something in the old-fashioned way，such as walking to have a face-to-face meeting instead of using the email or telephone．

　　●Don't worry too much about life－laugh more!

阅读理解

　　Ever thought you’d get to experience the smell of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair, or the scent(气味)of the sun?Visitors to the Reg Vardy Gallery will soon be able to do just that．

　　The gallery, at Sunderland University, England, is holding a new exhibition “If There Ever Was”．It focuses on scent rather than sight．

　　The innovative(创新的)idea is the brainchild of curator(馆长)Robert Blackson．His inspiration came from reading the book Fast Food Nation．The book discussed the use of artificial chemicals to flavor things such as milkshakes, making them smell and taste like strawberries, when they’re not actually made from them．

　　A smell can often conjure up(召唤)memories such as school dinners or a childhood holiday by the sea, but the smells on display, will allow visitors to experience smells their noses won’t have been able to pick out before．

　　“There’s a whole variety of different smells, including some extinct flowers,” explains Blackson．“Some have been gone for hundreds of years．”

　　One extraordinary fragrance(香气)is the aftermath(灾难的后果)of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan on August 6,1945．

　　There is also the smell of Clepatra’s hair, based on incense(熏香)that was popular among ancient Egyptians．

　　The Soviet Mir space station, which burnt up in the atmosphere in 2001, smells of charred(烧焦的)material(the space station caught fire)．

　　Among the stranger smells is the “surface of the sun”．

　　“It is hard to sum up．It is an atmospheric smell, like walking into a room when the sun has been pouring in” says Blackson．“It gives a freshness, a sun kissed feel with a bit of metal．If you can say something smells hot, this is it．”

　　A team of 11, including perfume designers, have been working on recreating the smells for the exhibition．James Wong, a botanist(植物学家)at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK, helped in the recreation of the smells of four extinct flowering plants．

　　He did this by closely linking the extinct flowers with the smells of existing ones．With the help of historical reports of how the extinct flowers smelled, he was able to remix the aromas(芳香)．

　　The exhibition runs until June 6．Fourteen extinct and impossible smells are on display．