阅读理解。
I credit my typing skills to so many hours of chatting online. Unfortunately, as my typing speed increased
on the Internet, all grammatical rules went out of the window. You see, instant messengers have their own
shorthand language and grammar isn't important, of which even a newbie (新手) is aware. They can leave
out articles, subjects, pronouns, etc. They can misspell or "re-spell" almost any word. They often ask "A/S/L"
when they first chat. Abbreviations and capitalizations are particularly important. English-speaking instant
messengers also refuse to burden themselves with punctuation and capitalization.
After I came back China, I discovered not one but two instant messaging crazes. The first, which brought
back memories of my previous addiction to the computer, was QQ. I can see evidence that the Chinese have
the same kind of separate instant messaging language, even when they chat in English. My first word in this
language, for example, was "ft". This abbreviation for"faint" is used whenever there is a need to express
surprise. I also discovered that the Chinese use the same kind of abbreviation for a laugh. And there is an
extraordinary number of smileys and icons available to express every emotion and reaction, from the traditional
"sleepy" and"doubtful" smileys to the "vomit" and "army soldier" smileys. There's even a SARS smiley.
After QQ, there is another, perhaps more widespread, messaging trend. You guessed it-cell phone text
messaging. I now understand how useful text messaging is and why it is so common. I admit that I have been
guilty of sending text messages while walking outside or sitting on the subway. Who hasn't? No matter where
I go, I see people on their cell phones, messaging. In fact, it's rare to see someone actually talking on their
phone!
So it looks as if there's no escape from the instant messaging crazes, no matter where in the world I go.
And that's plainly not going to change. In the end, though, I can't complain: instant messaging is quick, it's
cheap, it's easy and it's extreme fun too. And after all, everybody's doing it.
1. The underlined phrase "went out of the window" in Paragraph 1 probably means ____.
A. increased
B. occurred
C. disappeared
D. changed
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Grammar and correct spelling are very important while chatting online.
B. There are enough smileys and icons to express yourselves while chatting online.
C. The writer is skilled at typing and once was addicted to online games.
D. It is impolite to leave out some unimportant words or letters while chatting online.
2. The writer believes that instant messaging is ____.
A. full of fun but time-consuming
B. widespread but unnecessary
C. quick but difficult to do
D. common, useful and cheap
3. The writer believes that instant messaging is ____.
A. full of fun but time-consuming
B. widespread but unnecessary
C. quick but difficult to do
D. common, useful and cheap
4. Which might be the main idea of the passage?
A. Who can escape QQ and cell phone text messaging?
B. Why is instant messaging so popular?
C. Chatting online is good for your typing skills.
D. Chatting on QQ is natural for people.
