Many people think a telephone is essential. But I think it is a pest and a time waster. Very often you find it impossible to escape from some idle or curious chatter-box, or from somebody who wants something for nothing. If you have a telephone in your own house, you will admit that it tends to ring when you are asleep, or in the middle of a meal or a conversation, or when you are just going out, or when you are taking your bath. Are you strong minded enough to ignore it, to say to yourself,“Ah, well, it will all be the same in a hundred years’ time” You are not. You think there may be some important news or messages for you. I can assure you that if a message is really important it will reach you sooner or later. Have you never rushed dripping from the bath, or chewing from the table, or dazed from the bed, only to be told that you are a wrong number?
But you will say, you need not have your name printed in the telephone directory, and you can have a telephone which is only usable for outgoing calls. Besides, you will say, isn’t it important to have a telephone in case of emergency—illness, an accident, or fire? Of course, you are right, but here in a thickly populated country like England one is seldom far from a telephone in case of dreadful necessity.
I think perhaps I had better try to justify myself by trying to prove that what I like is good. I admit that in different circumstances—if I were a tycoon(business VIP),for instance, or bed ridden I might find a telephone essential. But then if I were a taxi-driver I should find a car essential.
Let me put it another way: there are two things for which the English seem to show particular talent; one is mechanical invention, the other is literature. My own business happens to be with the use of words but I see I must now stop using them. For I have just been handed a slip of paper to say that somebody is waiting to speak to me on the telephone. I think I had better answer it. After all, one never knows, it may be something important.
小题1:The passage is mainly discussing _______.
| A．that we should be strong enough to ignore a phone call |
| B．that important message will reach you sooner or later |
| C．whether it’s necessary to answer all phone calls |
| D．whether it is necessary to have a telephone |
小题2:Judging from the passage, who is strong-minded enough to ignore a phone call?
| A．The author. | B．A tycoon. |
| C．A taxi-driver. | D．Hardly anyone. |
小题3:According to the passage, the author________.
| A．thinks the telephone should go out of our life |
| B．likes to be different from other people |
| C．thinks the telephone is annoying |
| D．speaks favourably of a telephone |
小题4:In the author’s opinion, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Nearly everyone has been told a wrong number. |
| B．It’s necessary for everyone to have a telephone. |
| C．He himself can not decide whether to answer a call. |
| D．A telephone directory may bring in unexpected calls. |