Passage Two
Is new technology damaging our ability to communicate?Fingers flying ,we can blog(写博客文章),email,and enter chat rooms.But ,as we type our millions of words, something is being lost.As our virtual skills increase,I wonder if our ability to communicate using speech is on the decline.
Young people send me dozens of emails from schools and universities. They often attach long lists of questions,to which they want detailed responses. Time is short, so my reply is usually that they can phone me and I’ll do my best to answer.
They very rarely do,at least partly because their oral and telephone skills are less developed than their ability to type,text and email.Yet to adapt an old business saying,a meeting is worth five phone calls and a phone call is worth five emails.
Direct communication can quickly lead to bonding and trust.People are more likely to reveal what they are thinking when they actually speak to another person.Most are wary of committing themselves in writing.
The great tragedy, of course,is that the phone was invented before the computer.If it had been the other way around,Internet forums would now be filled with the news:”Have you heard (type,type,type)?There is this amazing new device(type,type).Now you can talk directly with people(type,type,type).Without all this typing.”Marketing would do the rest and college would be rushing to develop new course in telephone skills.
But,as it is ,we are stuck with the supremacy of the typed word and it is getting in the way of our ability to look people in the eye and talk. We should reconsider the technology in which the speed of our fingers is more important than the quality of our voices.
21.According to the author, young people today don’t ___A___. A. like to communicate using speech B.like to communicate with people
C.know how to communicate with people
D.know how to ask questions in communication
22. According to Paragraph 3, compared with meetings, e-mails are __C___. A.more efficient B. more interesting C.less efficient D.less interesting
23. In Paragraph 4,”wary of ”can be replaced by “____B___”
A.good at B.happy about C.used to D.cautious about
24. The author believes that if the phone had been invented after the computer,people would ___A________.
A.be eager to learn how to use the phone
B.be glad to have both means of communication C.still prefer typing words on the computer D.show little interest in the phone
25.Which of the following can best describe the author’s attitude towards the communication using typed words today?A
A.Concerned. B. Curious. C.Indifferent. D.Impatient.
成人英语课程试听
