We have a crisis on our hands. You mean global warming? The world economy? No, the decline of reading. People are just not doing it anymore, especially the young. Who’s responsible? Actually, it’s more like, What is responsible? The Internet, of course, and everything that comes with it—Facebook, Twitter (微博). You can write your own list.
There’s been a warning about the imminent death of literate civilization for a long time. In the 20th century, first it was the movies, then radio, then television that seemed to spell doom for the written world. None did. Reading survived; in fact it not only survived, it has flourished. The world is more literate than ever before—there are more and more readers, and more and more books.
The fact that we often get our reading material online today is not something we should worry over. The electronic and digital revolution of the last two decades has arguably shown the way forward for reading and for writing. Take the arrival of e-book readers as an example. Devices like Kindle make reading more convenient and are a lot more environmentally friendly than the traditional paper book.
As technology makes new ways of writing possible, new ways of reading are possible. Interconnectivity allows for the possibility of a reading experience that was barely imaginable before. Where traditional books had to make do with photographs and illustrations, an e-book can provide readers with an unlimited number of links: to texts, pictures, and videos, in the future, the way people write novels, history, and philosophy will resemble nothing seen in the past.
On the other hand, there is the danger of trivialization. One Twitter group is offering its followers single-sentence-long “digests” of the great novels. War and Peace in a sentence? You must be joking. We should fear the fragmentation of reading. There is the danger that the high-speed connectivity of the Internet will reduce our attention span—that we will be incapable of reading anything of length or which requires deep concentration.
In such a fast-changing world, in which reality seems to be remade each day, we need the ability to focus and understand what is happening to us. This has always been the function of literature and we should be careful not to let it disappear. Our society needs to be able to imagine the possibility of someone utterly in tune with modem technology but able to make sense of a dynamic, confusing world.
In the 15th century, Johannes Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press in Europe had a huge impact on civilization. Once upon a time the physical book was a challenging thing. We should remember this before we assume that technology is out to destroy traditional culture.
1. Which of the following paragraphs briefly reviews the historical challenges for reading?
2.The following are all cited as advantages of e-books EXCEPT( ).
3. Which of the following can be best to describe how the author feels toward single-sentence-long novels?
4. According to the passage,people need knowledge of modern technology and( )to survive in the fast-changing society.
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
问题1选项
A.Paragraph One
B.Paragraph Two
C.Paragraph Three
D.Paragraph Four
问题2选项
A.multimodal content
B.environmental friendliness
C.convenience for readers
D.imaginative design
问题3选项
A.Ironic
B.Worried
C.Sarcastic
D.Doubtful
问题4选项
A.good judgment
B.high sensitivity
C.good imagination
D.the ability to focus
问题5选项
A.Technology pushes the way forward for reading and writing
B.Interconnectivity is a feature of new reading experience
C.Technology is an opportunity and a challenge for traditional reading
D.Technology offers a greater variety of reading practice
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:C
1.段落大意题。题干:哪一个段落简要回顾了阅读的历史挑战?根据题干关键词historical challenges for reading定位至第二段第1-2句There’s been a warning about the imminent death of literate civilization for a long time. In the 20th century, first it was the movies, then radio, then television that seemed to spell doom for the written world.(很长一段时间以来,一直有关于文化文明即将灭亡的警告。在20世纪,首先是电影,然后是广播,然后是电视,似乎预示着文字世界的毁灭。),第一句话表明本段将会回顾阅读在以前的历史时期经历过的挑战,第二句话就说明了曾经有来自于哪几方面的挑战,所以B选项“第二段”,是本题的正确答案;文章第一段讲的是当今阅读面临衰退的危机及原因;第三段讲我们其实无需对现代科技发展过虑;第四段的中心是现代科技带给阅读的好处,所以都应排除。综上所述,本题的正确答案是B选项。
2.事实细节题。题干:以下都被认为是电子书的优点,除了_______。由题干定位到文章第三段最后一句话Devices like Kindle make reading more convenient and are a lot more environmentally friendly than the traditional paper book.(像Kindle这样的阅读设备比传统的纸质书更方便,也更环保),所以B选项“环境友好”和C选项“方便读者”,符合题意;第四段第三句指出an e-book can provide readers with an unlimited number of links : to texts, pictures, and videos(电子书可以为读者提供无限数量的链接:文本、图片和视频),可见电子图书的内容丰富形式多样,A选项“多模式的内容”是对该句中提及优势的概括,所以A选项也符合题意;第四段的第二句话Interconnectivity allows for the possibility of a reading experience that was barely imaginable before.(互联性使阅读经验成为可能,这是以前几乎无法想象的。),是说阅读经历是从前无法想象的,而不是电子图书的设计具有想象力,故D选项“富有想象力的设计”,属于曲解文章意思。综上所述,本题的正确答案是D选项。
3.推理判断题。题干:以下哪个选项能最好地描述作者对单句小说的感觉?由题干的关键词“single-sentence-long”定位至第五段。该段首句作者就指出there is the danger of trivialization(有一个风险是阅读的浅薄化),并在该段最后一句中指出There is the danger that the high-speed connectivity of the Internet will reduce our attention span—that we will be incapable of reading anything of length or which requires deep concentration.(目前存在的危险是:互联网的高速连接会减少我们注意力的持续时间,结果是我们不能够阅读长篇论著,或是阅读需要高度集中注意力的书籍。),这些均表明了作者的担心,故B选项“担心的”,符合题意;A选项“讽刺的”,C选项“挖苦的”和D选项“怀疑的”,根据文义,作者并无讽刺,怀疑的意思,排除A、C、D选项。综上所述,本题正确答案是B选项。
4.事实细节题。题干:根据文章,人们需要现代技术和_______的知识来在快速变化的社会中生存。根据题干定位到文章第六段最后一句话Our society needs to be able to imagine the possibility of someone utterly in tune with modem technology but able to make sense of a dynamic, confusing world.(我们的社会需要能够想象出这样一种可能性:一个人与现代技术完全合拍,但又能够理解一个动态的、令人困惑的世界。),可知knowledge of modern technology对应in tune with modern technology,而 make sense of a dynamic,confusing world则对应A选项“良好的判断力”,故A选项为答案。B选项“高度敏感性”,C选项“丰富的想象力”和D选项“集中注意力的能力”与原句中make sense of的意思相距甚远,故排除。综上所述,本题正确答案是A选项。
5.主旨大意题。题干:文章的主题思想是?本文开篇提到了互联网的出现对阅读造成的影响。之后回顾了过去科技的发展曾经对阅读构成的威胁,接着讲到阅读的新趋势和方式。第五段说明科技的发展对阅读所造成的具体影响。第六段提到现实世界中需要什么样的人——既适应现代技术的发展,又理解现在的变化。末段提到阅读本身也曾经是个挑战,引发人们思考如何应对现代科技对阅读构成的威胁。虽然文章没有明确提出中心思想,首段还提到互联网造成了阅读人数的下降,但随后各部分内容并没有对科技发展做出否定,而是为人们指明了正确的方向和途径,尤其末段说明了事物的两面性,C选项“技术对于传统阅读来说既是机遇,也是挑战”,很好地概括了文章的主旨大意,故为正确答案。由第三段第二句The electronic and digital revolution of the last two decades has arguably shown the way forward for reading and for writing.(过去二十年的电子和数字革命可以说为阅读和写作指明了前进的道路。),可知A选项“科技推动了阅读和写作的发展”是该段内容,而非全文中心意思,故排除;B选项“互联性是新阅读体验的特征”是对第四段第二句的解释,属于细节内容,故排除;D选项“科技提供了更多种类的阅读实践”是对第四段第三句的概括,与主旨无关,故排除。综上所述,本题正确答案是C选项。