an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left behind on another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientist; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.
However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.
There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestor faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.
68. The new products become more and more time-saving because . A. our love of speed seems never-ending B. time is limited.
C. the prices are increasingly high. D. the manufactures boast a lot.
69. What does “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to ?
A. Imaginary life B. Simple life in the past. C. Times of inventions D. Time for constant activity. 70. What is the author’s attitude towards the modern technology?
A. Critical B. Objective. C. Optimistic. D. Negative. 71. What does the passage mainly discuss? A. The present and past times. B. Machinery and human beings. C. Imaginations and inventions. D. Modern technology and its influence.
【答案解析】68答案：A
题目: 新发明变得越来越省时, 是因为？
A. 我们对速度的热爱从未停止。 可回原文定位never-ending（因为有连词符号）。原文第一段说到Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. 事实上, 我们对速度的热爱从未停止。A选项是对原文的同意改写。 B. 时间有限。原文未提及。
C. 价格日渐攀升。原文未提及价格因素。
D. 生产商大肆吹嘘。回原文定位Boast(因为有中文注释). 第一段最后一句说Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boats (吹嘘) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.
解析：每年都有更高速的新车出产, 而且新电脑也吹嘘能节省宝贵的每一秒钟。可见, 题目和选项矛盾。越来越省时是事实, 不是因为吹嘘而变得省时了。 69答案：B
题目: 第三段的“the days”指的是什么？ A: 想象的生活 B: 过去的简单生活 C: 发明的时间 D: 连续活动的时间
解析： 回原文定位第三段该句Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world. 也许, 我们静静聆听广播里的故事节目, 任想象插上翅膀肆意翱翔的日子, 已经一去不返了。根据前后一句可得知, 文章重点是说的高速生活和简单生活的对比。故:B选项是对原文的正确解读。而A选项的理解有偏差, 重点转移了。 70答案：B
题目: 作者对现代科技的态度是？
A: 批判的 B: 客观的 C: 乐观的 D: 消极的
解析： 根据文章结构, 第一段陈述事实, 说现代高科技省时省力。第二段说高速生活的弊端。第三段说对简单生活的向往, 但最后第四段却说高科技对现代生活的积极影响。所以, 作者的观点是不偏不倚的。
71答案：D
题目: 这篇文章主要说的是什么？ A: 过去与现在 B: 机器和人类 C: 想象力和创造力 D: 现代科技和它的影响
解析： 根据文章首尾段的大意可知, 文章重在分析高科技的利与弊。