Question

Do you know we are living in the world of mass media? Mass media are tools of communication and allow us to record and pass information rapidly to a large，scattered audience.

However，have you imagined what life would be without the media? Are you a media addict who would go mad after two hours without TV，friend requests，exciting online games and your mobile—or would you easily survive?

Recently，university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged．It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban(禁止)by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours.

Unplugged is being run by Dr. Roman Gerodimos，a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University．The experiment is now over but he doesn’t yet know the full findings. However，during the experiment，Dr. Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers．He said: “They’re reporting withdrawal(孤僻)symptoms，overeating， feeling nervous，isolated and disconnected.”

During their 24-hour ordeal，three volunteers had to endure one intrusion from the media: a BBC reporter plus cameraman who followed them around for the day．They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline，but of course，they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops.

Elliot Day wrote: “Today，my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air．Despite being aware of the social importance of the media，I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers.”

From Caroline Scott，we read: “I didn’t expect it，but being taken away from the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual… I didn’t break out in a cold sweat like Dr. Roman Gerodimos expected us all to，but it’s not something I would like to do again!”

And Charlotte Gay wrote: “I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile； not only is it a social gadget，it’s my main access point of communication.”

Earlier in the year，a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media，often plugged into several things at once．And a recent study by Nielson found that on average，US teenagers send and receive over 3，000 texts per month—that’s about six texts per waking hour.

So，with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate，how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?

1.According to the passage，what do you learn about the global experiment called Unplugged?

A.The experiment was carried out by US and UK governments.

B.The volunteers of the experiment are all university students.

C.It has been carried out in more than 10 countries for 24 hours.

D.Its findings proved that Dr. Gerodimos’ expectations were true.

2.According to what the three volunteers wrote during the experiment，we can learn that ______.

A.they all feel very surprised and worried

B.all of them feel empty without a mobile

C.it is hard for them to spend the 24 hours without media

D.it makes them realize the social importance of mobile

3.What does the writer think about the mass media?

A.He prefers not to live with it． B.He thinks highly of it.

C.He worries about its influence． D.He is not sure about it.

4.The underlined expression “break out in a cold sweat” probably means _______.

A.losing temper and feeling very angry

B.feeling cold due to sweating a lot

C.feeling empty and wanting to escape

D.sweating because one is nervous

5.What can be the best title of the passage?

A.Hello，technology! B.The young’s lives，a mess?

C.Welcome，information age! D.Mass media，a lifelong partner?

Answer 1