Question

Last year I ruined my summer vacation－a two-week vacation at my wife’s family cabin on a lake in northern Ontario, located at the boundary of the US and Canada－by bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good: the iPad.

Instead of admiring the beauty of nature, I checked e-mail. Instead of paddling an old canoe, I followed my Twitter feed. Instead of devouring great (or merely amusing) novels, I stuck to my workday diet of four newspapers each morning.

And that was the problem: I was behaving as if I were still in the office, sticking to the unending news cycle. My body was on vacation but my head wasn’t.

So this year I made up my mind to try something different, a social media experiment in reverse: withdrawal from the Internet. Could I manage to unplug?

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, since I’m not good at self-denial. But I was determined. I started with a physical restraint: handing the iPad to my wife, who helpfully announced that she was going to use it to read a 630-page novel for her book club and would not be inclined to relinquish the tablet for even a moment.

Then, a stroke of luck: The cell phone signal at the Canadian cabin was spottier than in the past, making my attempts at cheating an experience in frustration.

I was trapped, forced to comply with my own good intentions. Largely cut off from e-mail, Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites, I had little way to connect to the world except for radio－and how much radio can one listen to, really?

I had no choice but to do what I had planned to do all along: read books. I experienced criminal plots on the streets of Los Angeles, cutthroat battles between cancer labs and the psyche of a London social butterfly in 1922. And there were old magazines to read.

I’m not claiming that I cut myself off from the Internet completely. Every few days, we biked into the nearest town and, as a reward, sat on a park bench in front of the public library to use its Wi-Fi. And back at the cabin, we suffered through a slow dial-up connection once a day to check e-mail.

This tale of self-denial has a happy ending－for now, at least. With determination and deep breathing, plus the strong support of my wife, I succeeded in my vacation struggle against the Internet, realizing finally that it was me, of course, not the iPad, that was the problem.

I knew I had won when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi. “Don’t need it,” I said, trying not to sound too pleased.

However, as we return to post-vacation situation, a test begins: Can I stay on the wagon now that I’m back at work? There are times when the compulsion to know what’s being said right now is overwhelming (and for me, sometimes it’s crucial to my livelihood). And I have no intention of giving up my membership in the cult of immediacy. But I hope to resist the temptation to reflexively check my e-mail every five minutes, which often leads, as long as I’m looking, to checking my Twitter feed and a website or two.

A vacation is supposed to help you reset your brain to become more productive. Here’s hoping this one worked.

1.What ruined the writer’s trip last year?

A. That he was worn out because of the schedule.

B. That he forgot to bring amusing novels with him.

C. That he read too much newspaper last year.

D. That he was distracted by too many things unrelated to the trip.

2.What does the underlined word ‘restraint’ mean?

A. A calm and controlled behavior.

B. A relaxing move.

C. A strong determination.

D. An unshakable faith.

3.What did the writer do to get in touch with the outside world during the trip?

A. Reading online newspapers.

B. Following his friends’ Twitter.

C. Checking email every now and then.

D. Listening to the radio.

4.Why did the writer claim that his self-denial process have a happy ending?

A. He has completely turned down the Internet.

B. He gave up his habit of checking the latest news online.

C. He realized that his body was on vacation but his head wasn’t.

D. It dawned on him that it was people that are in control of their behavior.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Say no to electronic devices.

B. Relationships harmed by distractions.

C. Abandoned distractions ease break.

D. Things that can take your mind off.

Answer 1