《2025年课堂精练英语必修第二册北师大版》

IV. 阅读理解
主题语境: 人与社会/科技发展　语篇类型: 夹叙夹议文
Online Communication
In an age when technology moves faster than most can keep up with, a small group of people still 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 online 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 email box as soon as the opportunity came. My life changed.
Email is something truly different. It has capabilities that few other products can match.
Email 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 email even if you are in the same office.
Naming all the good of online communication is not easy. But wait. Email 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 email box filled with 200 unread messages. You could easily spend half a day clearing junk ads.
Then, online 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 sure 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(调制解调器), 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 caused the writer to become interested in email and online communication?
A. The sound of the modem.
B. His own illness.
C. The changing of his life.
D. A sick old man's experience.
2. What is the most probable meaning of the underlined word “junk” in Paragraph 7?
A. Old and useless.
B. New and useful.
C. Short but valuable.
D. Long but clear.
3. What does the writer think of online 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, but it may be inconvenient or even harmful.
D. It does more harm than good.

答案： 1. D 2. A 3. C