Live with Computer
After too long on the Net, even a phone call can be a shock. My boyfriends Liverpudlian accent suddenly becomes indecipherable after the clarity of his words on screen; a secretarys tone seems more rejecting than Id imagined it would be. Time itself becomes fluid - hours become minutes, and alternately seconds stretch into days. Weekends, once a highlight of my week, and now just two ordinary days.
For the last three years, since I stopped working as a producer for Charlie Rose, I have done much of my work as a telecommuter. I submit articles and edit them via E-mail and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists. My boyfriend lives in England, so much of our relationship is computer-mediated.
If I desired, I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything. I can order food, and manage my money, love and work. In fact, at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at home, going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries. I watched most of the blizzard of 96 on TV.
But after a while, life itself begins to feel unreal. I start to feel as though Ive merged with my machines, taking data in, spitting them back out, just another node on the Net. Others on line report the same symptoms. We start to strongly dislike the outside forms of socializing. Its like attending an A. A. meeting in a bar with everyone holding a half-sipped drink. We have become the Net opponents; worst nightmare.
What first seemed like a luxury, crawling from bed to computer, not worrying about hair, and clothes and face, has become an avoidance, a lack of discipline. And once you start replacing real human contact with cyber-interaction, coming back out of the cave can be quite difficult.
At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to chatter in the background, something that Id never done previously. The voices of the programs soothe me, but then Im jarred by the commercials. I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or compulsively needing to keep up with the latest news and the weather. Dateline, Frontline, Nightline, CNN, New York 1, every possible angle of every story over and over and over, even when they are of no possible use to me. Work moves from foreground to background.
练习:
1. Compared to the clear words of her boyfriend on screen, his accent becomes
A) unidentifiable.
B) unbearable.
C) unreal.
D) misleading.
2. The passage implies that the author and her boyfriend live in
A) different cities in England.
B) different countries.
C) the same city.
D) the same country.
3. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A) she is so absorbed in the TV programs that she often forgets her work.
B) In order to keep up with the latest news and the weather, she watches TV a lot.
C) In order to get some comfort from TV programs she, sometimes, turns on the television.
D) Having worked on the computer for too long, she became a bit odd.
4. What is the authors attitude to the computer?
A) She dislikes it because TV is more attractive.
B) She dislikes it because it cuts off her relation with the outside world.
C) She has become bored with it.
D) She likes it because it is very convenient.
5. The phrase coming back out of the cave in the fifth paragraph means
A) coming back home.
B) going back home.
C) living a luxurious life.
D) restoring direct human contact.
答案:ABCCD
上海公用电话亭变身小型图书馆“悦读亭”
独自在外面吃饭,会不自在吗?
睡觉时也能学习新东西?原来大脑并没有休息
国内英语资讯:China to speed up bullet trains on Beijing-Shanghai route in Sept.
美文赏析:学会拒绝,你才能走得更远
The Bargain 一次交易
Donkey's years 很长时间
喝了这么久的可乐,你确定了解它们吗?
国际英语资讯:23 killed, 40 injured in India train accident
国际英语资讯:Afghanistan marks 98th anniversary of independence
国际英语资讯:Jordan, Turkey reject Israeli measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque
国内英语资讯:Chinese customs seize 600 tonnes e-cigarette oil
国际英语资讯:Russia registers 6 ceasefire violations in Syria in past 24 hours
国内英语资讯:Beijing court bans production of air-polluting company
国际英语资讯:Trump to unveil new Afghanistan strategy Monday night
小心雷区:面试中11种不礼貌言语
史上最傻瓜减肥法——睡美人减肥法
研究:西方人智商水平呈下降趋势
体坛英语资讯:29th Southeast Asian Games kicks off in Malaysia
女生们以为这些行为很可爱,其实却是男友最讨厌的
国内英语资讯:Chinese coastal provinces brace for typhoon Hato
老外在中国:低头一秒,家毁人亡!
国内英语资讯:China issues commemorative stamps for BRICS Summit
体坛英语资讯:Morocco qualify for African Nations Championship
日本设计出巨大帘幕 让房屋与地震共存
国际英语资讯:Senior Palestinian official urges U.S. to declare support for two-state solution, ending set
国内英语资讯:Mainland stresses common political foundation for peaceful cross-Strait development
国内英语资讯:China military medical team treats more than 70 disaster-affected people in Sierra Leone
体坛英语资讯:Kenya Stars coach recalls striker to squad to face Mozambique
不求回报地付出是一种幸福
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |