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 (中斷) 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 (輕視) 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 (優(yōu)先考慮的事) than a random (隨機(jī)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.
1.What is the point of the anecdote(軼事,趣聞) 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.
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.
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.
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.