Passage OneQuestions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.Texting has long been bemoaned (哀叹) as the downfall of the written word, “penmanship for illiterates,” as one critic called it. To which the proper response is LOL. Texting properly isn′t writing at all. It's a “spoken” language that is getting richer and more complex by the year.First, some historical perspective. Writing was only invented 5,500 years ago. Whereas language probably traces back at least 80,000 years. Thus talking came first; writing is just a craft that came along later. As such, the first writing was based on the way people talk, with short sentences. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is deliberate and slow, Over time, writers took advantage of this and started crafting long-winded sentences such as this one: “The whole engagement lasted above 12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leaders and……”No one talks like that casually — or should. But it is natural to desire to do so for special occasions. In the old days, we didn't much write like talking because there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation. But texting and instant messaging do — and a revolution has begun. It involves the crude mechanics of writing, but in its economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a new kind of talking, with its own kind of grammar and conventions.Take LOL. It doesn't actually mean “laughing out loud” in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts “Where have you been?” and Annabelle texts back “LOL at the library studying for two hours.” LOL signals basic empathy (同感) between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something — conveying an attitude — just like the -ed ending conveys past tense rather than “meaning” anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar.Of course no one thinks about that consciously. But then most of communication operates without being noticed. Over time, the meaning of a word or an expression drifts — meat used to mean any kind of food, silly used to mean, believe it or not, blessed.Civilization, then, is fine — people banging away on their smartphones are fluently using a code separate from the one they use in actual writing, and there is no evidence that texting is ruining composition skills. Worldwide people speak differently from the way they write, and texting -quick, casual and only intended to be read once — is actually a way of talking you’re your fingers.1．What do critics say about texting? __ [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. It is mainly confined to youngsters.B. It competes with traditional writing.C. It will ruin the written language.D. It is often hard to understand.
2．In what way does the author say writing is different from talking? __ [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. It is crafted with specific skills.B. It expresses ideas more accurately.C. It does not have as long a history.D. It is not as easy to comprehend.
3．Why is LOL much used in texting? __ [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. It brings texters closer to each other.B. It shows the texter's sophistication.C. It is a trendy way to communicate.D. It adds to the humor of the text.
4．Examples like meat and silly are cited to show __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. the difference between writing and talkingB. how differently words are used in textingC. why people use the words the way they doD. the gradual change of word meaning
5．What does the author think of texting? __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. It facilitates exchange of ideas among people.B. It is a new form of verbal communication.C. It deteriorates people's composition skills.D. It hastens the decline of the written word.
Passage TwoQuestions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.Three hundred years ago news travelled by word of mouth or letter, and circulated in taverns and coffee houses in the form of pamphlets and newsletters. “The coffee houses particularly are very roomy for a free conversation, and for reading at an easier rate all manner of printed news,” noted one observer. Everything changed in 1833 when the first mass-audience newspaper, The New York Sun, pioneered the use of advertising to reduce the cost of news, thus giving advertisers access to a wider audience. The penny press, followed by radio and television, turned news from a two-way conversation into a one-way broadcast, with a relatively small number of firms controlling the media.Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house. The internet is news more participatory, social and diverse, reviving the distinctive characteristic of the era before the mass media. That will have profound effects on society and politics. In much of the world, the mass media are flourishing. Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6% between 2005 and 2009. But those global figures mask a sharp decline in readership in rich countries.Over the past decade, throughout the Western world, people have been giving up newspapers and TV news and keeping up with s in profoundly different ways. Most strikingly, ordinary people are increasingly involved in compiling, sharing, filtering, discussing and distributing news. Twitter lets people anywhere report what they are seeing. Classified documents are published in their thousands online. Mobile-phone footage of Arab uprisings and American tornadoes is posted on social-networking sites and shown on television newscasts. Social-networking sites help people find, discuss and share news with their friends.And it is not just readers who are challenging the media elite. Technology firms including Google, Facebook and Twitter have become important conduits of news. Celebrities and world leaders publish updates directly via social networks; many countries now make raw data available through “open government” initiatives. The internet lets people read newspapers or watch television channels from around the world. The web has allowed new providers of news, from individual bloggers to sites, to rise to prominence in a very short space of time. And it has made possible entirely new approaches to journalism, such as that practiced by WikiLeaks, which provides an anonymous way for whistleblowers to publish documents. The news agenda is no longer controlled by a few press barons and state outlets.In principle, every liberal should celebrate this. A more participatory and social news environment, with a remarkable diversity and range of news sources, is a good thing. The transformation of the news business is unstoppable, and attempts to reverse it are doomed to failure. As producers of new journalism, individuals can be scrupulous with facts and transparent with their sources. As consumers, they can be general in their tastes and demanding in their standards. And although this transformation does raise concerns, there is much to celebrate in the noisy, diverse, vociferous, argumentative and stridently alive environment of the news business in the ages of the internet. The coffee house is back. Enjoy it. 6．According to the passage, what initiated the transformation of coffee-house news to mass-media news? __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. The emergence of big mass media firms.B. The popularity of radio and television.C. The appearance of advertising in newspapers.D. The increasing numbers of newspaper readers.
7．Which of the following statements best supports “Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house”(Para.2)? __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6% between 2005 and 2009.B. People in the Western world are giving up newspapers and TV news.C. Classified documents are published in their thousands online.D. More people are involved in finding, discussing and distributing news.
8．According to the passage, which is NOT a role played by information technology? __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. Challenging the traditional media.B. Planning the return to coffee-house news.C. Providing people with access to classified files.D. Giving ordinary people the chance to provide news.
9．The author's tone in the last paragraph towards new journalism is __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. optimistic and cautiousB. supportive and skepticalC. doubtful and reservedD. ambiguous and cautious
10．In “The coffee house is back” (the last Para.), coffee house best symbolizes __. [空格内填写选项大写字母]A. the changing characteristics of news audienceB. the more diversified means of news distributionC. the participatory nature of newsD. the more varied sources of news