There is a famous story about British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was writing a poem when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.
This was an age before telephones. Someone was delivering a message. When Coleridge got back to his poem, he had lost his inspiration. His poetic mood had been broken by the knock on his door. His unfinished poem, which could otherwise have been a masterpiece, would now never be more than a fragment (片段).
This story tells how unexpected communication can destroy an important thought，which brings us to the cellphone.
The most common complaint about cellphones is that people talk on them to the annoyance of people around them. But more damaging may be the cellphone’s disruption (中断) of our thoughts.
We have already entered a golden age of little white lies about our cellphones, and this is by and large a healthy, protective development. “I didn’t hear it ring” or “I didn’t realize my phone had shut off” are among the lies we tell to give ourselves space where we’re beyond reach.
The notion of being unreachable is not a new concept – we have “Do Not Disturb” signs on the doors of hotel rooms. So why must we feel guilty when it comes to cellphones? Why must we apologize if we decide to shut off the phone for a while?
The problem is that we come from a long-established tradition of difficulty with distance communication. Until the recent mass deployment (使用) of cellphones, it was easy to communicate with someone next to us or a few feet away, but difficult with someone across town, the country or the globe. We came to take it for granted.
But cellphones make long-distance communication common, and endanger our time by ourselves. Now time alone, or a conversation with someone next to us which cannot be interrupted by a phone, is something to be cherished. Even cellphone devotees, myself usually included, can’t help at times wanting to throw their phone away, or curse the day they were invented.
But we don’t and won’t, and there really is no need. All that’s required to take back our private time is a general social recognition that we have the right to it. In other words, we have to develop a healthy contempt (轻视) for the rings of our own phones. Given the ease of making and receiving cellphone calls, if we don’t talk to the caller right now, we surely will shortly later.
A cellphone call deserves no greater priority (优先考虑的事) than a random (随机的) word from the person next to us. Though the call on my cellphone may be the one–in–a–million from Steven Spielberg–who has finally read my novel and wants to make it his next movie. But most likely it is not, and I’m better off thinking about the idea I just had for a new story, or the slice of pizza I’ll eat for lunch.
小题1:What is the point of the anecdote（轶事，趣闻） about the poet Coleridge in the first three paragraphs?
A．To direct readers’ attention to the main topic.
B．To show how important inspiration is to a poet.
C．To emphasize the disadvantage of not having a cellphone.
D．To encourage readers to read the works of this poet.小题2:What does the writer think about people telling “white lies” about their cellphones?
A．It is a way of signaling that you don’t like the caller.
B．It is natural to tell lies about small things.
C．It is basically a good way to protect one’s privacy.
D．We should feel guilty when we can’t tell the truth.小题3:According to the author, what is the most annoying problem caused by cellphones?
A．People get annoyed by the cellphone rings that they fail to notice anything else.
B．People feel guilty when they are not able to answer their cellphones.
C．Cellphones interrupt people’s private time.
D．With cellphones it is no longer possible to be unreachable.小题4:What does the last paragraph suggest?
A．A person who calls us from afar deserves more of our attention.
B．Steven Spielberg once called the author to talk about the author’s novel.
C．You should always finish your lunch before you answer a call on the cellphone.
D．Never let cellphones interfere too much with your life.
