It’s Friday evening. My daughters, 3 and 9, sigh(嘆息) when I gently take the iPads away from their laps. One by one, our screens are turned off. We light the candles and sit down to have a big meal.
Most people in our lives know they will not be able to contact us by using computer or moblie phones for 24 hours. And so it has gone, every week for three years. We call it our “Technology Shabbat(科技安息日)" which lasts from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
I first understood the importance of disconnecting in 2008, when my father was told that he
had got brain cancer. Some days he would have ony one good hour, and I wasn’t willing to be disturbed when I was with him, so I’d turn off my mobile phone.
Soon after, encouraged by National Day of Unplugging(全國斷網斷電日) on March 1st, my husband and I decided to unplug for one full day every week.
During our “Technology Shabbats”, time slows. Our Saturdays now feel like mini-vacations. We drive our car or ride our bike. We, with our kids, work in the garden, play board games and cook meals. I feel more balanced. I feel like a better mother, wife and person.
Keeping a balance between the good and the bad of technology is my lasting state. The technology we’ve created makes it possible for us to share knowledge and take in carious ideas all over the world. But the technology also take something away from us. When we stay up late at night linking(連接) from website to website or sending messages or e-mailing, we click again, and again, and again until we’ve overloaded(超負荷的).
When we rush into the time full of high technology, it's necessary for us to pay attention to what we are doing online and when we should go off.
I will always remember the most important thing in my family: “Technology Shabbat".
小題1: When is “Techtwhgy Shabbat' in the writer's family?
| A．Only on Sunday. |
| B．From sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. |
| C．Only on Friday. |
| D．From sunset on Saturday to sunset on Sunday. |
小題2: The writer's family have “Technology Shabbat" every week mainly becausc they hope to ______.
| A．save energy |
| B．enjoy life together |
| C．stay away from others |
| D．follow National Day of Unplugging |
小題3: What do the writers family NOT do during their “Technology Shubbats”?
| A．They drive their car or ride bikes for mini-vacations. |
| B．They light the candles and sit down to have a big meal. |
| C．They work in the garden, play board games and cook meals. |
| D．They stay up late at night linking from website to website. |
