improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handicrafts(手工艺品) are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.
Nevertheless, we must not commit the mistake of analysing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.
It is people's attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people's attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to rethink their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.
41. According to Paragraph 1, progress can benefit people when they are willing to ________．
A. live a better life B. look for better methods C. change ways of living
D. accept technology and advance steadily
42. The underlined word “gadgets” is closest in meaning to “________”．
A. tools B. messages C. barriers D. skills
43. The author explains “efficiency comes with a price” by ________. A. describing a process B. using examples C. following time order D. making classification
44. Compared with home-made handicrafts, machine-made products ________．
A. lack great accuracy B. lack the personal touch C. are of high value D. are quite welcome
45. What can be learned about technology from Paragraph 4? A. It can destroy old traditions. B. It can lead to social progress. C. It can be used to correct mistakes.
D. It can be used to preserve old products. C
I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed（解散）. As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible (负责任) for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized（强调） the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying
answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test。 46.The story took place exactly ____________ .
A. in the teacher’s office B. in an exam room C. in the school D. in the language lab 47.The girl wanted to borrow a pen, because ____________ . A. she had not brought a pen with her B. she had lost her own on her way to school C. there was something wrong with her own D. her own had been taken away by someone
48 The teacher saw all this, so she asked the boy ____________ A .to go on writing his paper B. to stop whispering
C. to leave the room immediately D. to stay behind after the exam
49.The thing(s) emphasized in her talk was(were) ____________ .
A. honesty B. sense of duty C. seriousness D. all of the above
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