Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact (互动) these days. The term is “networked individualism”. This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings. How can we be individuals (个体) and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.
Here is what Professor Wellman means. Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time.
A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to- person interaction. However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing. Why?
In the past, many people were worried that the Internet isolated (孤立) us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer. But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true. The Internet connects us with more real people than expected — helpful people who can give advice on careers, medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.
Thanks to the computer, we are able to be alone and together with other people — at the same time!
60. The underlined phrase “networked individualism” probably means that by using computers people ________.
A. stick to their own ways no matter what other people say B. have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest
C. do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people D. are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people
61. According to the Pew study, what do many people rely on to make major life decisions? A. Networks.
B. Friends.
C. Phones.
D. Parents.
62. It can be inferred from the Pew study that _______.
A. people have been separated from each other by using computers B. the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely C. the Internet has become a tool for a new kind of social communication D. a lot of people regard the person-to-person communication as a good thing 63. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. We’re Alone on the Internet. B. We’re Communicating on the Internet. C. We’re Alone Together on the Internet. D. We’re in the Imaginary World of the Internet.
2答案 60.D 61.A 62.C 63.C
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How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病)．Believing my career(职业生涯) was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it—the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to suceess—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well
yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be
a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then，there are other distractions,_such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as‘calm’，‘peace’or‘focus’， either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological(心理的) tool.”
[语篇解读] 本文叙述了三位名人在成功的道路上所经历的不同的事情，一是战胜了病痛，一定克服了精力分散的困难，一是通过坚持不懈努力，最后都取得了胜利。
1．What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about? A. Difficulties influenced his career. B. Specialists offered him medical advice. C. Training helped him defeat his disease. D. He overcame the shadow of illness to win.
[解析] 推理判断题。第一部分写了Sir Steven得了糖尿病，但最终克服了病痛拿到了金牌，故D项符合题意。
[答案] D
2．What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary? A. Her training schedule. B. Her daily happenings. C. Her achievements. D. Her sports career.
[解析] 事实细节题。第二部分第二句中，it指代前面的句子内容，即她的训练计划。 [答案] A
3．What does the underlined word“distractions” probably refer to? A. Ways that help one to focus.
B. Words that help one to feel less tense. C. Activities that turn one’s attention away. D. Habits that make it hard for one to relax.
[解析] 猜测词义题。从下文“The key is to concentrate.”可以推出是指分散作家注意力的活动。
[答案] C
4．According to the passage，what do the three people have in common? A. Courage. B. Devotion. C. Hard work.
[解析] 事实细节题。第一部分中“I could still be a winner if I believed in myself.”，第二部分中“Trust yourself...”及第三部分中“It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence...”都表明自信是他们三个的共同之处。
[答案] D
[长难句解读] Trust yourself，write down your goals for the day，however small they are，and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.相信你自己，不论目标多小，每天把它们写下来，这样你会向实现它们又迈进了一步。“祈使句＋and/or＋现在将来时句子”结构中，祈使句可转换成由if引导的条件句。本句含有两个祈使句，第二个祈使句又含有一个让步状语从句。
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People diet to look more attractive. Fish diet to avoid being beaten up, thrown out of their social group, and getting eaten as a result. That is the fascinating conclusion of the latest research into fish behavior by a team of Australian scientists.
The research team have discovered that subordinate fish voluntarily diet to avoid challenging their larger competitors. “In studying gobies we noticed that only the largest two individuals, a male and female ，had breeding(繁殖) rights within the
each being 5～10% smaller than its next largest competitor. We wanted to find out how they maintain this precise size separation.”
The reason for the size difference was easy to see. Once a subordinate fish grows
，it causes a fight which usually
ends in the smaller goby being driven away from the group. More often than not, the_evicted_fish_is then eaten up.
It appeared that the smaller fish were keeping themselves small in order to avoid challenging the boss fish. Whether they did so voluntarily，by restraining how much they ate, was not clear. The research team decided to do an experiment. They tried to fatten up some of the subordinate gobies to see what happened. To their surprise，the gobies simply refused the extra food they were offered，clearly preferring to remain small and avoid fights, over having a feast.
The discovery challenges the traditional scientific view of how boss individuals keep their position in a group. Previously it was thought that large individuals simply used their weight and size to threaten their subordinates and take more of the food for themselves，so keeping their competitors small.
While the habits of gobies may seem a little mysterious, Dr.Wong explains that understanding the relationships between boss and subordinate animals is important to understanding how hierarchical (等级的) societies remain stable.
The research has proved the fact that voluntary dieting is a habit far from exclusive to humans. “As yet, we lack a complete understanding of how widespread the voluntary reduction of food intake is in nature，” the researchers comment. “Data on human dieting suggests that，while humans generally diet to improve health or
prefer females that are fatter than the females’ own ideal.”
[语篇解读] 人们节食是为了更有魅力。令鱼类专家们惊奇的是有种鱼也要节食。实验发现它们节食可不是为了美，而是为了自我保护。如果身体大小吸引到竞争者的注意，会有被殴打、驱逐，最后被吃掉的危险。
5．it________.
A. faces danger
B. has breeding rights
D. leaves the group itself
C. eats its competitor
[解析] 推理判断题。从第三段可得知如果身体大小超过权威的规定范围，会有被殴打、驱逐最后被吃掉的危险。
[答案] A
6．The underlined words “the evicted fish” in Paragraph 3 refer to ________. A. the fish beaten up
B. the fish found out
D. the fish driven away
C. the fish fattened up
[解析] 猜测词义题。从本段前文可知，体积超标的鱼会被赶出鱼群。接着说到，不仅如此，这些鱼往往会被吃掉。这些鱼一定是指被驱逐的鱼。
[答案] D
7．The experiment showed that the smaller fish________. A. fought over a feast
B. went on diet willingly
C. preferred some extra food D. challenged the boss fish [解析] 事实细节题。从第四段中的试验可得知这些鱼是自愿节食。
[答案] B
8．What is the text mainly about? A. Fish dieting and human dieting. B. Dieting and health. C. Human dieting. D. Fish dieting.
[解析] 主旨大意题。文章通篇都是围绕鱼的节食来叙述。故选D。 [答案] D
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