Technology helps people do everything from planning to meet for a movie to keeping in tou

Technology helps people do everything from planning to meet for a movie to keeping in touch with a friend who lives in a different country.

When planning to get together with friends，Julian said，“If I want to go and see a movie with a few friends，I usually send them text messages.By telephone，you have to call every single friend one by one.But text messaging allows you to send the same message to as many people as you’d like，which saves a lot of time.”

Email，IM，and other low­cost methods of communication also help people keep long­distance friendships in ways they couldn’t have even a few years ago.

Mike told us，“I had this friend when I was 8 or 9，and then she moved away to the country.We promised to stay friends and to send letters，and at the start we did.Then the letters got fewer and fewer and we at last stopped writing to each other.I think if we had had email，we would still be in touch.”

James found out about cost the hard way.He said，“I called my friend in New Zealand，which is halfway around the world，and it cost me over $200！So now I just stay up  late to see if I can catch him on MSN or I write an email.”

Email，IM，and other low­cost ways of keeping in touch also allow people to develop brief acquaintances (与人相识) into long­lasting friendships.Andrea told us，“I met this really cool girl.We sometimes email each other.We’ve been in touch over half a year and it’s nice to talk to her.”

54．What is this passage mainly about?

A．Technology has improved greatly.

B．Technology can help our social lives.

C．Technology keeps far­away friends close.

D．Text messages bring advantages to our life.

55．How does Julian usually get in touch with a group of friends?

A．By emailing them.

B．By chatting with them on MSN.

C．By sending them text messages.

D．By giving them a phone call.

56．What does James most probably think of calling his friend in New Zealand?

A．Convenient.  B．Costly.  C．Difficult.  D．Necessary.

57. The writer uses Andrea’s story to show that________.

A．everyone can make good use of technology

B．long­lasting friendships can be gained anywhere

C．there are many kinds of ways of keeping in touch

D．it is easier to make new friends than before due to technology 

　科技使我们的社交活动变得比以前更方便了。

54．B　主旨大意题。本文主要是关于科技在社交生活中所发挥的作用，故选B。

55．C　推理判断题。根据第二段的If I want to go and see a movie with a few friends，I usually send them text messages.可推断Julian通常是通过发短信的方式跟一群朋友联系的。

56．B　细节理解题。根据第五段的James found out  about cost the hard way.以及后文James所说的话，可知他认为给新西兰的朋友打电话联系花费太高。

57．D　作者意图题。文章末段主要是讲科技可以让一般的相识发展成长久的友谊，故选D。