"Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell."
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our li1ves.
But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You're rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings; a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen; the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have sped up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps it's because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went "back in time" to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, "The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes." The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a "Trendy, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things."
1. The writer uses the quote(引语) at the beginning of the story to .
A. tell us a truth about our life
B. tell us what life was like long time ago
C. point out what causes such a thing to happen
D. point out that you experience some big problems and they may the same
2. In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions .
A. have sped up our lives
B. have improved the quality of our lives
C. may make people feel very happy
D. may bring people some trouble
3. The family chose to spend some time in a 1940s house because .
A. they loved to live simple lives
B. they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions
C. they were troubled by modern inventions
D. living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them
4. According to the passage, which is NOT right?
A. People who live far away form noisy cities often seem to be happier.
B. An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of like would get better.
C. The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house.
D. With the improvement of your lives, we often feel stressed and tired.