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主題語境：科技與信息 篇幅：318詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1Throughout history,people have always worried about new technologies.Some even argue that the Internet might kill our brains.The fear that the human brain cannot deal with the large amount of information brought by technological development was first voiced in response to the printing press,back in the sixteenth century.You have the exact same concerns today,regularly voiced in the mainstream media,and usually focused on children.

2But are these arguments reasonable?There are several things to bear in mind when considering how our brains deal with the Internet.

3First,don't forget that“the Internet”is a very vague(模糊的)term,given that it contains so many things across so many formats.You could,for instance,develop a gambling(賭博)addiction via online casinos or poker sites.This is an example of someone's brain being negatively affected via the Internet,but it would be difficult to argue that the Internet is the main guilty party,any more than a gambling addiction obtained via a real world casino can be blamed on“buildings”;it's just the context in which the problem occurs.However,the Internet does give us far more direct,constant and wide ranging access to information than pretty much anything else in human history.So how could,or does,this affect us and our brains?

4It's important to remember that the human brain is always dealing with a constant stream of rich information every day.But what should be noticed is that the brain doesn't actually process every single thing our senses present to it;for all its power and complexity,it just doesn't have the capacity for that.So it chooses what to absorb and estimates what's important based on experiences,calculation and a sort of“best guess”system.The point is,the brain is already well adapted to prevent damaging information overload,so it's unlikely that the Internet would be able to cause such a thing.

Reading

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1.What worries people when it comes to new technologies?

A.Constant waste of time. B.Potential addiction.

C.Pressure on the printing press. D.Information overload.

2.Why is gambling addiction mentioned in paragraph 3?

A.To support an argument. B.To define a concept.

C.To present a new opinion. D.To provide background information.

3.Which of the following best describes the human brain in processing information?

A.Fixed. B.Creative.

C.Selective. D.Sensitive.

4.What does the author intend to imply in this text?

A.The Internet isn't the main guilty party for brain damage.

B.Humans are overloaded with too much information today.

C.Damaging information is everywhere in modern society.

D.Modern technologies have brought so many negative effects.

Language

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Useful expressions

voice表達(dá)；吐露（感情或意見）

obtain（尤指通過艱難的過程）得到；獲得

access入口；通道；（使用或見到的）機(jī)會

given that考慮到

complexity復(fù)雜性；錯綜復(fù)雜

in response to響應(yīng)；回答

focus on關(guān)注

mainstream media主流媒體

bear in mind記?。豢紤]

a sort of一種

damaging information有害的信息