Don’t talk to me; I’m busy with my iPhone

Riding a London subway, a person from China will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other. In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times. That’s not rudeness—people are just too busy to bother looking.

Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet reflection, nor are they reading a book. New technology has replaced quiet habits. Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book.

Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（乘車上下班的人）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000—yes, that’s 40,000—“apps” （programs downloaded for the iPhone） have been designed.

Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers. One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks. Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination. ISteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the “ steam” on your phone screen.

For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be another choice. It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music—iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages.

And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied， then perhaps you would prefer a film. The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV show or film on the way to work. With all this entertainments, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train.

1.People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because they are busy ________.

A．playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films.

B．going to work

C．reading books

D．thinking private things

2.Those who like war games can download ________ to their iPhones.

A．Tube Exits   B．iShoot C．ISteam         D．iPod

3.The underlined word “occupied” in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A．delighted    B．busy    C．controlled   D．a(chǎn)mused

4.The article tells us that ________.

A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers

B．Apple has earned a lo of money from selling 40,000 iPhones

C．with all the new time-fillers, London commuters often forget to get off the train.

D．technology is changing the way London commuters spend their traveling time.

Umbrella is a “difficult” novel. But if you enjoy challenges, just read on because Umbrella, as a Booker Prize winner, is one you can’t miss.

The story itself is not difficult to follow. It concerns a woman named Audrey, a Lo  ndoner who grows up during World War I, works in a military factory, and then survives an epidemic （傳染病）spreading through Europe between 1915 and 1926. She is admitted to a mental hospital in 1922, and remains there, mind out of time, until 1971, when a doctor named Zach Busner awakens the sleeping beauty with a special drug. And decades later-on April 8,2010, to be exact — Busner

thinks back on all this as he visits his old hospital.

The story also involves painful facts of how the mentally ill were

mistreated, and the careers of Audrey’s two brothers, one of whom

becomes a soldier in the Great War. Fans of World War I will not want

to miss the vivid descriptions of battlefields.

What makes Will Self’s novel challenging is how he tells his story.

Is opens in the spring of 1971 but thereafter time travels back and

forth between Audrey’s Edwardian childhood and 2010, jumping

mid-sentence from one era to another with no reminders to guide the reader. It is a new style many many modernists adopted, who thought that the old ways were not enough to show the great changes at the beginning of the 20th century.

This story isn’t new: Oliver Sacks dealt with the same sleeping sickness and its treatment in Awakenings. What’s appealing about Umbrella is that Self combines from with content perfectly, using modernist techniques. The readers may feel confused about the switch of time, it’s Self’s wild style that offers other delights – richly detailed settings that bring mental hospitals alive and much more than that.

Yes, “Umbrella” is a “difficult” novel, but it amply rewards the effort.

66．The underlined phrase "mind out of time" in the second paragraph probably refers, to          .

       A．a(chǎn) way a person faces difficulties light-heartedly

       B．a(chǎn) condition where a person is unconscious

       C．a(chǎn) situation which makes someone embarrassed

       D．a(chǎn)n occasion where a person doesn't mind the time

67．What troubles the readers most when they are reading Umbrella?

       A．The relations of the characters．

       B．The abstract language．

       C．The switch of time．

       D．The settings of battlefields．

68．We can safely infer from Paragraph 4,______．

       A．Self displays a fast-changing world to readers

       B．Self created the style in which he wrote his story

       C．Self avoided describing the scene of the war

       D．Self’s style was followed by many other writers

69．Who else wrote a similar story besides Self?

       A．Audrey．                                B．Zach Busner．

       C．Oliver Sacks．                          D．Audrey's brother．

70．The novel Umbrella really attracts the readers because______．

       A．the potential Self has as a modernist writer

       B．the strange writing technique Self created

       C．the new material Self chose for his story

       D．the perfect combination of the form and content

It was an early September day, cool and bright and just right for running, and I was in the first few miles of a lO-knownmile race over a course with a few high hills. Still, I felt energetic; despite the hills it was going to be a fine run.
Just ahead of me was Peggy Mimno, a teacher from Mount Kiseo, New York. She too was running easily, moving along at my speed. The pace felt comfortable, so I decided to stay where I was; why pay attention to pace when she was setting such a nice one? I'd overtake(追上) her later on when she tired.
So I ran behind her. The course headed north for miles, wandered west for a hilly mile, then turned south again along a winding road. The race was getting harder. We had four miles left and already it was beginning to be real work.
Peggy overtook a young runner. She seemed to know him, for they exchanged a few cheerful words as she passed him. Their exchange worried me. You don't chat during a race unless you feeling good, and Peggy plainly was.
Still, I was close enough to overtake her if she tired, so I didn't give up hope completely. We were getting nearer to a long, punishing hill now and it would be the test. We were a mile from the finish line, so whatever happened on the hill would almost determine who crossed it first.
As I moved up the hill, my attention wandered for a few minutes. When I looked up, Peggy was moving away--first five yards, then ten, then more. Finally it was clear that there was no help of catching her. She beat me soundly.
There is an important lesson in that race. Women are thought to be weaker, slower and not nearly as skilled in sport. Yet as Peggy Mimno so clearly showed, the similarities between men and women runners are more important than differences. I have run with a number of women, and I can say it is often hard work

1. 1.

   What did the writer think of the race in the beginning?

   1. A.
      It would be hard work
   2. B.
      It would be an easy race
   3. C.
      It would be a test of his strength
   4. D.
      It would be a good learning experience
2. 2.

   What worried the writer when Peggy greeted the young runner?

   1. A.
      Peggy overtook the young runner
   2. B.
      Peggy was running energetically
   3. C.
      Peggy was laughing as the writer
   4. D.
      Peggy paid no attention to the writer
3. 3.

   By saying "a long, punishing hill" (paragraph 5 ), the writer implies that _____________

   1. A.
      Peggy would fail to reach the hilltop
   2. B.
      men are more skilled at climbing hills
   3. C.
      overtaking Peggy would be easy
   4. D.
      climbing the hill would be a demanding task
4. 4.

   What lesson does the writer learn from the race?

   1. A.
      Women are as good as men in sport
   2. B.
      Women are better at climbing hills
   3. C.
      He should have more training in a cross-country race
   4. D.
      He should set a quicker pace at the beginning of a race

Don’t talk to me; I’m busy with my iPhone
Riding a London subway, a person from China will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other. In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times. That’s not rudeness—people are just too busy to bother looking.
Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet reflection, nor are they reading a book. New technology has replaced quiet habits. Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book.
Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（乘車上下班的人）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000—yes, that’s 40,000—“apps” （programs downloaded for the iPhone） have been designed.
Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers. One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks. Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination. ISteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the “ steam” on your phone screen.
For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be another choice. It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music—iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages.
And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied， then perhaps you would prefer a film. The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV show or film on the way to work. With all this entertainments, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train

1. 1.

   People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because they are busy ________

   1. A.
      playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films
   2. B.
      going to work
   3. C.
      reading books
   4. D.
      thinking private things
2. 2.

   Those who like war games can download ________ to their iPhones

   1. A.
      Tube Exits
   2. B.
      iShoot
   3. C.
      ISteam
   4. D.
      iPod
3. 3.

   The underlined word “occupied” in the last paragraph probably means ________

   1. A.
      delighted
   2. B.
      busy
   3. C.
      controlled
   4. D.
      amused
4. 4.

   The article tells us that ________

   1. A.
      London commuters are unfriendly to strangers
   2. B.
      Apple has earned a lo of money from selling 40,000 iPhones
   3. C.
      with all the new time-fillers, London commuters often forget to get off the train
   4. D.
      technology is changing the way London commuters spend their traveling time