第二篇

Excessive Demands on Young People

Being able to multitask is-hailed by most people as a welcome skill, but not according to a recent study which claims that young people between the ages of eight and eighteen of the so-called Generation M are spending a considerable amount of their time in fruitless efforts as they multitask. It argues that, in fact, these young people are frittering（浪費） away as much as half of their time as they would if they performed the very same tasks one after the other.

Some young people are using an ever larger number of electronic devices as they study. At the same time they are working, young adults are also surfing on the Internet, or sending out emails to their friends, and/or answering the telephone and listening to music on their iPods or on another computer. As some new device comes along, it is also added to the list rather than replacing one of the existing devices. Other research has indicated that this multitasking is even affecting the way families themselves function as young people are too wrapped up in(沅湎于) their own isolated worlds to interact with the other people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house nor can they eat at the family table.

All this electronic wizardry(魔力) is supposedly also seriously affecting young people's performance at universit3t and in the workplace. When asked about their opinions of the impact of modern gadgets (小裝置) on their.performance of tasks, the great majority of young people gave a favourable response.

The response from the academic and business worlds was not quite as positive. The former feel that multitasking with electronic gadgets by children affects later development of study skills, resulting in a decline in the quality of writing, for example, because of the lack of concentration on task completion. They feel that many undergraduates now urgently need remedial (補救的) help with study skills. Similarly, employers feel that young people entering the workforce need to be taught all over again, as they have become deskilled.

While all this may be true, it must be borne in mind that more and more is expected of young people nowadays; in fact, too much. Praise rather than criticism is due in respect of the way today's youth are able to cope despite what the older generation throw at them.

36. What is probably true about the multitasking Generation M?

A. They feelthey are more effIcient than others.

B. They waste more time than they should spend.

C. They put more energy on important tasks.

D. They need to improve their analytical skills.

37. With the introduction of new gadgets, what happens to the Generation M's present e-devices?

They give way to the latest..

They are quickly put aside.

They are sold to their friends.

They become part of their collection.

38.Multitasking rriakes the Generation M

A. feellonely add pitiful.

B. selfish and aggressive.

C. distant to their family.

D. silent and sad."

39.The academics feel that many undergraduates badly need to

A. adjust their social attitudes.

B. seekpsychologicalassistance.

C. improve their study skills.

D.  take more business,courses.

40.  What attitude should the older generation adopt towards the multitasking youth?

A. Critical.

B. Thankful.

C. Negative.

D. Supportive.

36 A 文章的第一段把這一點講得十分明確: ...the so-called Generation M are spending a considerable amount of their time in fruitless efforts as they multitask. It argues that， in fact，these young people are frittering away as much as half of their time as they would if they performed the very same tasks one after the other.

37 A 第二段的最后一句話: As some new device comes along, it is also added to the list rather than replacing one of the existing devices. 回答了這個問題。只要有新的玩意兒出現，它就會被增加到現有的玩意兒上去，而不是替代原有的東西。注意四個選項里的they 指的是 e-devices 而不是屬于Generation M 這一代的年輕人。

38 D 根據文章的內容應選 D。 distant to their family 意為 "和自己的家人疏遠"。具體可見第三段。

39 D 答題的依據是第五段里的這句話: They feel that many undergraduates now urgently need remedia1 help with study skills. 可見在大學教師看來許多本科生急需補上學習技能這一課。

40 A 這道題的答題依據是文章的最后一段，作者認為盡管上面所說的都沒錯，但是 (注意 while 這個連接詞的轉折意義)我們要記住現今對年輕人的期望越來越高。不管老一輩怎么說他們(注意 despite這個介詞表示的讓步意義)，對他們 (年輕人) 還是應該給予表揚而不是批評(Praise rather than criticism is due) 。To be due 應該得到。

（責任編輯：vstara）

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