A funny thing happened on the way to the communication revolution: we stopped talking to one another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and suddenly, I became invisible, absent from the conversation.
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communication technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice-mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated, the emotional distance index goes up. You can’t even call a person to get the phone number of another person any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.
I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn’t wise. They’re a great help to us. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.
More and more, I find myself hiding behind email to do a job meant for conversations or being relieved with voice-mail picking up because I don't really have time to talk. The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier.
小題1:Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?A.The Advance of Modern Technology
B.The Consequences of Communication Technology
C.The Story of Communication Revolution
D.The Automation of Modern Communication
小題2:Which is NOT TURE according to the passage?A.The author has decided not to use his phone when he is with his friend.
B.Modern technology makes it hard for people to have a face-to-face talk.
C.The limited use of communication device brings much inconvenience to the author.
D.The industry intended to keep people in touch is taking them away from each other.
小題3:The writer feels that the use of modern communication is ______.A.satisfyingB.encouraging
C.disappointingD.embarrassing
小題4:The passage implies that ______.A.modern technology is bridging the people
B.modern technology is separating the people
C.modern technology is developing too fast
D.modern technology is interrupting people
