The New York Times published an article recently that shows great regret for the "death of conversation".It suggests that while technology such as cell phones, e-mails , and Internet posting makes us feel more   (1)  than ever, they’re also driving us   (2)  from people around us.

Users get final connectivity   (3)  the price of   (4)  face-to-face conversation. Sherry Turkle, author of the article in The New York Times says people are   (5)  to a different way of being “alone together”.

Actually   (6)  text messages or writing micro-blogs allows us to   (7)  thoughts.

  (8)  bits and pieces of online cannot   (9)  a “real conversation.” Lan Guo, 19, a freshman English major from Changsha University , said that she would like to hear people’s tone of voice and see their faces in a (n)  (10)  .“The give and take of ideas in a conversation sharpens our minds,” she said．She also mentions that   (11)  ourselves in mobile technology reduces our chance of starting conversations with strangers and   (12)  People.

Turkle mentioned the popular   (13)  of “I share, therefore I am” among this generation. Liu Xuan, a young writer from Taiwan and psychology graduate from Harvard University, thinks it’s a mindset adopted by most young people. They are so busy creating or polishing their online persona (网络人格)that they forget how to live a (n)  (14)  life. For example，They may   (15)  more about blogging about attending a party rather than enjoying being   (16)  

However，experts remind us that it’s unfair to   (17)  mobile technology. Chen Chen, a sociology expert at China Youth &Children Research Center, points out that it is still owners of gadgets , such as cell phones and tablets , who’re avoiding personal  (18)  We take advantage of these devices to hide ourselves   (19)  others. Texting messages or calling may be a (n)  (20)  to avoid contact with others, such as having eye contact．“Only by strengthening conversation can we understand each other. Simply throwing away the mobile gadgets is not a solution.”she said.

 It takes plenty of time for some adults to try to stop children playing. They are usually people who think of play as being the   (1)   of work and therefore a waste of time. For humans, work is a way of getting food to eat, and like humans,   (2)   must spend time doing the  (3)   things. Regardless of this, children   (4)   playing, and so do other young animals. It is quite   (5)   to keep both a small child and a young cat   (6)   for hours with a piece of paper.

    Hunting may be the most obvious skill   (7)   in play, but it is far from being the only one. Lambs and goat kids play   (8)  , although as adults they will never   (9)   anything other than some grass. But for these young animals too,   (10)   is an important part of learning. Sheep and goats are   (11)   hill and mountain animals. Running and skipping exercise young legs and develop a strong sense of   (12)   that will keep them safe on the steepest rocks.

  (13)   animals’ play, children’s play is not so different.   (14)   trees and catching flies are not the most obvious training for the adult world, but the flexibility   (15)   in these activities is similar to that required of a bus driver or businessman.

What we know about animals shows us that playing is a very good way of   (16)  , so maybe one of the best ways for   (17)   to learn is also by playing. Children find playing is fun, but   (18)   notice that they are also learning at the same time. Most people continue to play games long after they have become   (19)  , and perhaps that is because we rely so much on our   (20)   to learn.

Why do young adult children become independent so much later than they did in 1970，when the average age of independent living was 21? Why have reduced class sizes and increased per-pupil expenditures (花销）not  (1 )  higher academic achievement levels? Why is the mental health of today’s kids so poor when   (2 )  with that of children in the 1960s and before? Why do today’s    ( 3)  become defensive when told by teachers that their children have misbehaved in school?

The answer in two words: parental   (4)  . Those two words best summarize the   (5 )   between “old” child raising and new, post-1960s parenting. Then, the overall philosophy was that parents were not to be  ( 6 )  involved with their kids. They were available    (7)   crisis, but they stood a (an)  ( 8 )   distance from their kids and allowed them to experience the benefits of the trial-and-error process. It was the child’s   ( 9 )  , back then, to keep his or her parents from getting involved. That was   (10)    children learned to be responsible and determined.

Today’s parents help their kids with almost everything. These are parents who are  (11)  when it comes to an understanding of their purpose in their kids’ lives. Their involvement leads them to personalize everything that happens to their kids;     (12)  , the defensiveness. But given that schools and mental health professionals have been pushing parent involvement for nearly four decades, the confusion and defensiveness are  (13)    .

University researchers analyzed three decades of data relating to parent participation in children’s academics. Their conclusions   (14)    what I’ve been saying since the 1980s: parental help with homework  (15)  a child’s academic achievement and is not reflected on standardized tests.

Parents who manage a child’s social life interfere with the    (16)    of good social skills. Parents who manage a child’s after-school activities grow kids who don’t know how to    (17)    their own free time. Parents who get involved in their kids,   (18)        with peers grow kids who don’t know how to avoid much less trouble.

These kids have anxieties and fears of all sorts and don’t want to leave their     (19)   . And their parents, when the time comes, don’t know how to     (20)    being parents. You can imagine what will become of their future.

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

      In the north of Scotland there is a lake called Loch Ness. It is the biggest 36 in Britain. It is over thirty kilometers long and nearly 300 meters 37 . It is cold and dark and not many people went there until after 1930. Then a road was made 38 the lake.

     Holiday makers began to use the road, and this was when the 39 began. Someone said that he had seen a monster(妖怪) in the lake. He said it was twelve meters long. It had a long 40 and a small head. Then someone else said he seen 41 . Others said the same thing and in 1933 a London doctor took a 42. It 43 like a monster with a long neck and a thick body but the photo was not too 44. The newspaper printed the picture and 45 it the Loch Ness monster, or “Nessie”. Then the argument began. 46 people, however, were certain there was something living in the lake. Others said there was 47 there. In 1961, a lot of people joined together to make a real 48 to see and photograph the monster to find 49 there was one! Several times people thought they saw something but after ten years there was 50 no real proof（证据）.

      Later underwater television cameras were used, but 51 found any real proof. However, they 52 find something interesting: a huge underwater cave. It was big enough to be 53 of a monster, but of course, this was not a proof. In 1975, however, some American scientists 54 a search group. They used an underwater camera. It took pictures every seventy seconds. Some of the pictures seemed to show aredbrowncreature. Its body was about four meters long, 55 had a very ugly head on the end of a four-meter neck. Many people then began to believe in the monster. But even today we can’t be certain.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The   (1)   is that countries around the world have growing mountains of    (2)   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

   How did we    (3)  a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to   (4)    an object than to spend time and money to repair it.  (5)   modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and    (6)    .

  Another cause is our   (7)   of disposable (一次性的) products. As   (8)    people, we are always looking for   (9)   to save time and make our lives easier. Companies     (10)  thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

   Our appetite for new products also    (11)    to the problem. We are   (12)   buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that  (13)   is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we  (14)   useful possessions to make room for new ones.

    All around the world, we can see the   (15)  of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To  (16)   the amount of rubbish and to protect the  (17)   , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   (18)    , this is not enough to solve our problem.

    Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions   (19)  throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about   (20)   . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The    41  is that countries around the world have growing mountains of   42   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we   43    a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to   44 an object than to spend time and money to repair it.    45 modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and   46  .

Another cause is our  47 of disposable (一次性的) products. As  48  people, we are always looking for   49 to save time and make our lives easier. Companies   50  thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also  51 to the problem. We are   52 buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that   53 is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we  54 useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the   55 of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To  56  the amount of rubbish and to protect the   57, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   58 , this is not enough to solve our problem.

 Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions    59  throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about   60 . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

The world would be a better place if we all had children’s eyes. This is not because children’s eyes are too sharp to allow any blot（污点,瑕疵）to pass without being  36 , but because adults have too many conflicting concerns to keep their eyes open to all wrongdoing.

Not long before, an examination, intended to  37  some police officers to higher positions, was held in Gansu province. Someone  38  with a good idea that 18 primary pupils could be invited to act as invigilators (监考人). At that age, students would do as they are told and act fearlessly.  39 , they caught 25 officers cheating on the spot, which has caused a stir (轰动,搅动) and  40  the question of whether adult invigilators would  41  their duties as well.

The implication of this event goes  42  its impact on the work style of local police officers and the examinations. Most people said what these children have done points to the sad fact of  43  being less trustworthy. If adults acted as invigilators, they would quite  44  turn a blind eye to cheating.

We Chinese have been holding the  45  that human nature was good at birth: as  46  of blot as a sheet of blank paper, which can be  47  with content (good or bad) in the process of growing up. Everything should be done on the basis of certain principles.  48 , nowadays the repeated reports of cheating in examinations, selling ranks and  49  and embezzling (挪用) public funds paint a  50  picture of common social morals. Adults have become too concerned with their own personal gains to  51  basic sense of principles. When no one  52  any principle and the only concern is personal interest, everyone will  53 , not only those who first break the rules.

Besides, cheats are unfair to honest examinees, and when the success of cheats  54  more people to cheat, the consequences will be disastrous.

In a word, we adults need to have our eyes as  55  as children’s on matters of principle.

Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes (欠债) me $12,” she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the   (1)  . “You sold me a ticket   (2)   May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It   (3)   me $12.”

Harry was   (4)  . He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I’ll just   (5)   the Jersey timetable for May 22nd. The woman and her little girl followed him   (6)  . She was   (7)   right, as Harry soon discovered, there was no   (8)   on May 22nd. How could he have   (9)   such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering   (10)   to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sunburned,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

“Yes,” she answered, shyly. “The beach was   (11)  . And I can swim too!” “That’s fine,” said Harry. “My little girl can’t   (12)   a bit yet. Of course, she’s only three…”

“I’m four,” the child said proudly. “I’ll be four and a half.”

Harry   (13)   the mother. “I remember your   (14)  , Madam.” he said. “But you didn’t get   (15)   for your daughter, did you?” “Er, well,” the woman looked at the child. “I mean, she hasn’t started school yet. She’s only four.”

“A four-year-old child   (16)   have a ticket, Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs…, let me see… $13. So   (17)   the railway pays your hotel, you will   (18)   $1. The law is the law, but since the   (19)   was mine…”

The woman stood up,   (20)   the child’s hand and left the office.

Yesterday I called my cousin Alice, I asked her if she____31____to go out for a picnic with me. She immediately said,“No. I’m too____32____to go with you.” I was not____33____when I got that answer. Alice is always doing something. She is running here and there to get a____34____done. And at the end of the day, she always seems tired. I don’t think Alice is____35____. There are many people like her. They seem to be busy but don’t do many things. Their____36____is that they don’t set priorities (优先权). In their opinion, every task is of the same____37____. But that is incorrect.

Recently, I____38____a video online, which shows the importance of setting priorities. And I can’t____39____more. There are reasons to set priorities on a____40____basis. If you work on tasks from one to another without getting anything____41____on the major-to-do list, you will see yourself flitting like a humming bird from flower to flower.

____42____you haven’t set your daily priorities for quite some time, maybe a suggestion or two would be welcome. The easiest and simplest way, and____43____one of the most effective ways is to start to____44____your major priorities for the day on your calendar (日历). No, I do not____45____doing that on your iPad, iPone, or any other electronic device. You should____46____major priorities on a physical calendar with a pen. This process lets your brain____47____the connection you are making, and it is this conscious connection that makes your note more effective.

The real____48____comes next and that is to remove or____49____all other events, issues or demands for your time or attention that could knock you off your track. This is not easy. However, with practice, you will____50____make it.

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