(A)

　　In an age when technology moves faster than most can keep up with, a small group of people will remain in the time of old fashioned letters. Frankly speaking, I was once certain that traditional letters could never be replaced by other means of communication.

　　But a story about on-line communication changed my mind.

　　An old man, who suffered a lot from Parkinson's disease, was not able to talk clearly and could hardly write his name, living totally alone, he managed to keep in touch with nearly all the members of his family. How did he achieve this? He clicked out words on his computer keyboard.

　　I, therefore, managed to get an e-mail box as soon as the chance came. My life changed.

　　E-mail, and all on-line communication, is something truly different. It has capabilities that few other products can match.

　　E-mail is convenient. It takes less time with its fast speed and 24-hour connection. The slow postal service is of no match. If you wouldn't want to have a face-to-face talk with your manager, you might talk with him through E-mail even if you are in the same office.

　　Naming all the good of on-line communication is not easy. But wait-E-mail can be inconvenient. It can waste time and energy. Just think what may happen when you take a short vacation and return to find your E-mail box filled with 200 unread messages. You could easily spend some time clearing junk ads.

　　Then, on-line communication will keep us staying at our computer while it connects us to distant strangers. Once we throw ourselves into the machine, we may forget the human touches we once held so dear. I'm certain there is and always will be a place for the old-fashioned letter, phone call, and face-to-face meeting- even in the world of modern communication.

　　As I listened to the sound of the modem(调制节调器), I was excited at stepping out to the outside world but, at the same time, I sensed a loss of control over something valuable in my personal life.

　　1. What does the underlined word "junk" means?

　　A. Old and unwanted.

　　B. New and useful.

　　C. Good and expensive.

　　D. Beautiful.

　　2. What caused the writer to become interested in E-mail and on-line communication?

　　A. Sick old man's experience.

　　B. His own illness.

　　C. The changing of his life.

　　D. The sound of the modem.

　　3. What does the writer think of on-line communication?

　　A. It should replace old-fashioned letters completely.

　　B. It is perfect and always does good to you.

　　C. It is extremely useful and convenient, and it may also be inconvenient or even harmful.

　　D. It does more harm than good.

　　(B)

　　I'm interested in the furnished cottage near Delham which you made known in yesterday's newspaper, for my husband and I are coming to England in June and will stay at the cottage for three months. Would you please tell me exactly where it is and give me some information about bus and train service in the area? We need a cottage on a busy street. And I would also like to know about the shops there. Do the shops still supply? I know they did ten years ago.

　　I would also be thankful if you would tell me whether you supply sheets, etc, and whether a laundry(洗衣店) calls at the house. The rent you ask sounds reasonable for the size of the cottage. How do you like it paid? Weekly, monthly or in advance?

　　4. In the passage "you" refers to ________.

　　A. a friend of the writer's

　　B. the writer's

　　C. some person who has a cottage to rent

　　D. an unknown person living in England

　　5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A. "You" must have advertised in the newspaper.

　　B. The writer and her husband are to stay at Delham.

　　C. The writer must have been to Delham ten years ago.

　　D. The writer is interested in nothing but cottage.

　　[答案与解析]

　　1. A。由第七段可知,当你短期度假回来后,发现电子邮箱里装满了未读的广告,你要花费些时间把这些广告删掉。所以说,这些广告肯定是旧的不想要的。2. A。第二段和第三段即本题答案出处。3. C。从短文后半部分可以看出作者的观点,作者认为,网上交流有方便的一面,也有其不方便的一面。4. C。从短文内容来看,这是一封信,写信人是在联系租房子。因此,收信人的"you"是房东。5. D。写信人在信中除了联系租房子之外,还咨询了汽车和火车交通以及商店购物等情况。

　　(文/李景莉；英语辅导报高三版2003-2004学年第50期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)