I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

 Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

  Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich  is warmed up． 

 Sometimes  I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out  the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

  My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from  “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me． 

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

 The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner  would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep  would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

  Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech． 

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author    ．

   A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps  B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

When I learned that 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble —a word game, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggests we give her a computer to play against herself. I wasn’t sure whether my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken 15 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so, we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’ home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of the computers.

It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything.

She has been the one teaching me all my life: to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.

   It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing. This proved to be a bigger challenge to her, so I gave her some homework. I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces. 

“Are you this demanding with your kindergarten pupils?” she asked.

“No, of course not,” I said.”They already know how to use a computer.”

 My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏). For as long as I can remember, any time I called, my mother would answer. Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years.

1.What does the author do?

A．She is a cooker

B．She is a teacher

C．She is a housewife

D．She is a computer engineer

2.The author decided to give her mother a computer _____.

A．to let her have more chances to write letters

B．to support to her in doing her homework

C．to help her through the bad times

D．to make her life more enjoyable

3.The author asked her mother to write her a letter _____.

A．because her mother had stopped using the telephone

B．because she wanted to keep in touch with her mother

C．so that her mother could practice what she had learned

D．so that her mother could be free from the housework

When I learned that 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble —a word game, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggests we give her a computer to play against herself. I wasn’t sure whether my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken 15 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so, we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’ home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of the computers.
It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything.
She has been the one teaching me all my life: to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.
   It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing. This proved to be a bigger challenge to her, so I gave her some homework. I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces. 
“Are you this demanding with your kindergarten pupils?” she asked.
“No, of course not,” I said.”They already know how to use a computer.”
 My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏). For as long as I can remember, any time I called, my mother would answer. Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years

1. 1.

   What does the author do?

   1. A.
      She is a cooker
   2. B.
      She is a teacher
   3. C.
      She is a housewife
   4. D.
      She is a computer engineer
2. 2.

   The author decided to give her mother a computer _____

   1. A.
      to let her have more chances to write letters
   2. B.
      to support to her in doing her homework
   3. C.
      to help her through the bad times
   4. D.
      to make her life more enjoyable
3. 3.

   The author asked her mother to write her a letter _____

   1. A.
      because her mother had stopped using the telephone
   2. B.
      because she wanted to keep in touch with her mother
   3. C.
      so that her mother could practice what she had learned
   4. D.
      so that her mother could be free from the housework

    When I learned that my 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble – a word game – against herself, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggested we give her a computer to play against. I wasn’t sure my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken 15 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so, we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of computers.

    It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything. She has been the one teaching me all my life: to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.

    It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing(文字处理). This proved to be a bigger challenge(挑战) to her, so I gave her some homework I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces.

    “Are you this demanding with your kindergarten pupils?” she asked.

    “No, of course not,” I said. “They already know how to use a computer.”

     My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏反应). For as long as I can remember, any time I called, my mother would answer. Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years.

49. What does the author do?

    A. She is a cook.                                               B. She is a teacher.

    C. She is a housewife.                                        D. She is a computer engineer.

50. The author decided to give her mother a computer            .

    A. to let her have more chances to write letters

    B. to support her in doing her homework

    C. to help her through the bad times                     D. to make her life more enjoyable

51. The author asked her mother to write her a letter                .

    A. because her mother had stopped using the telephone

    B. because she wanted to keep in touch with her mother

    C. so that her mother could practice what she had learned

    D. so that mother could be free from housework

52. After the computer was brought home, the author’s father             .

    A. lost interest in cooking                             B. took more phone calls

    C. played more games                                  D. began to use it

When I learned that my 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble—a word game—against herself, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggested we give her a computer to play against. I wasn’t sure my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken 15 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so, we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’ home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of computers.
It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything. She has been the one teaching me all my life; to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.
It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing(文字处理). This proved to be a bigger challenge(挑战) to her, so I gave her some homework. I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces.
“Are you demanding this with your kindergarten pupils?” she said.
“No, of course not,” I said. “They already know how to use a computer.”
My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏反应). For as long as I remember, and time I called, my mother would answer, Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years.
【小题1】What does the author do?