阅读理解。
Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way
many North Americans interact (互动) these days. The term is "networked individualism". This concept is
not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings. How can we be individuals (个体)
and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.
Here is what Professor Wellman means. Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks
included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it
was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time. A recent research study by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced
this person-to-person interaction. However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that's a good
thing. Why?
In the past, many people were worried that the Internet isolated (孤立) us and caused us to spend too
much time in the imaginary world of the computer. But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true. The
Internet connects us with more real people than expected－helpful people who can give advice on careers,
medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that
the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.
Thanks to the computer. We are able to be alone and together with other people－at the same time!
1. The underlined phrase "networked individualism" probably means that by using computers people _____.
A. stick to their own ways no matter what other people say
B. have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest
C. do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people
D. are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people
2. According to the Pew study, what do many people rely on to make major life decisions?
A. Networks.
B. Friends.
C. Phones.
D. Parents.
3. It can be inferred from the Pew study that _____.
A. people have been separated from each other by using computers
B. the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely
C. the Internet has become a tool for a new kind of social communication
D. a lot of people regard the person-to-person communication as a good thing
4. Which would be the best title for this passage?
A. We're Alone on the Internet.
B. We're Communicating on the Internet.
C. We're Alone Together on the Internet.
D. We're in the Imaginary World of the Internet.
