阅读理解。
A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal's office
at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed
to focus on the teacher, not his cell phone. The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr. Gallagher
noticed the student's fingers moving on his lap. He was texting while being scolded for texting."It was a
subconscious act," says Mr. Gallagher, who took the phone away."Young people today are connected socially
from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close their eyes at night. It's compulsive."
A study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, found that the more
time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have lower grades and weaker study habits.
Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more socialable, but they are also more likely to be anxious, hostile
or depressed. (Doctors, meanwhile, are now blaming addictions to 'night texting' for disturbing the sleep
patterns of teens.)
Almost a quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a 2009 survey
by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit.group that monitors media's impact on families. Will these young people
get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or will employers come to see texting and social-network
checking' as accepted parts of the workday?
Think back. When today's older workers were in their 20s, they might have taken a break on the job to call
friends and make after-work plans. In those earlier eras, companies discouraged non-business-related calls, and
someone who made personal calls all day risked being fired. It was impossible to imagine the constant back-and-
forth texting that defines interactions among young people today.
Educators are also being asked by parents, students and educational strategists to reconsider their rules. "In
past generations, students got in trouble for passing notes in class. Now students are adept at texting with their
phones still in their pockets," says 40-year-old Mr. Gallagher, the vice principal, "and they're able to
communicate with someone one floor down and three rows over. Students are just fun-damentally different
today. They will take suspensions rather than give up their phones."
1. The underlined word "a subconscious act" refers to an act _____.
A. on purpose
B. without realization
C. in secret
D. with care
2. Young people addicted to the use of Facebook _____.
A. are good at dealing with the social relationships and concentrate on their study
B. have high spirits and positive attitudes towards their life and work
C. have been influenced mentally in the aspects of behaviors and habits
D. are always in bad mood and have poor performance in every respect
3. Through the situation of today's older workers in their 20s, it can be inferred that _____.
A. the employers will not accept young people's sending text messages
B. a cell phone is a must for today's older workers instead of young people
C. the employers prefer older workers to young people
D. the employers will find it hard to control the interaction among young people
4. Mr. Gallagher reminds us that the students in the past and those today _____.
A. like to break rules and have the same means of sending messages
B. are always the big problem for the educators and their parents
C. like sending text messages but those today do it in a more secret and skillful way
D. cannot live without a cell phone
5. What's the best title of the passage?
A. Teenagers and Cell Phones
B. Teenagers' Texting Addiction
C. Employers and Teenagers
D. Teenagers' Education
