Question

Every Sunday morning, as most people line up outside neighborhood breakfast spots, watch TV news shows, or head for church, Chloris Noelke－Olson is tuning up her fiddle. She's preparing to enjoy bluegrass music the old－fashioned way: with friends, at home, for free.

“To be able to play with other people face to face and have that sort of connection, it's spiritual，” Ms. Noelke－Olson said of the weekly house concerts in Chicago she participates in. “It's like a good conversation with instruments—something that doesn't seem to happen much anymore because everyone is blabbering(饒舌) on their cell phones.”

She is among a growing group of Americans who are finding it pleasant to unplug from the digital grid, at least temporarily. While there is no exact data to track how many people are forming knitting groups, hosting house concerts, or organizing family game nights, it is possible to connect the dots between the rising price of entertainment and the rising sales of board games (棋類游戲) and craft supplies.

Between 2007 and 2008, the prices for restaurant meals, concert tickets, and movie tickets all increased. At the same time, board games sales rose 6 percent, while total toy sales decreased 3 percent.

These trends are expected to continue because of the struggling economy. Instead of outfitting their homes with expensive home entertainment systems, consumers are more likely to be interfacing the old－fashioned way: eye－to－eye. Families are rediscovering ways to come together that have nothing to do with high tech.

“People are turning inward to build in enjoyment time for family and home”， said Linda Bettencourt, an interior designer in San Francisco whose clients typically live in million－dollar homes. Over the past six months, Ms. Bettencourt has been hired to redesign living spaces to foster the kind of connectivity that doesn't involve wires. “The big game table is back，” she says. “People want to sit around and see each other's faces rather than facing a flat－screen TV.”

1. Why is Chloris Noelke－Olson enjoying bluegrass music the old－fashioned way?

A. Because she likes playing musical instruments.

B. Because she wants to provide free music for her friends.

C. Because she doesn't like talking on the cell phone.

D. Because she likes to form a close connectivity with people.

2. Ms. Bettencourt has been hired to ________.

A. connect the rich people with others

B. redesign living space for the rich people

C. give some advice to people on connectivity

D. help people to save money

3. We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.

A. home designing has become a big business

B. rich people usually pay more attention to their living space

C. even rich people are changing their ways of entertainment

D. rich people spend more on home entertainment

4. This passage is about ________.

A. a new trend in people's entertainment in America

B. the present economic situation in America

C. the modern family life in America

D. the change of people's interest in America

5. If this passage is posted on the web, it most probably appears in the section of ________.

A. people  B. travel

C. environment  D. lifestyle

Answer 1

 1. 解析：選D。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章第二段第一句可知，Chloris Noelke－Olson跟朋友一起享受bluegrass music，目的是為了建立一種面對(duì)面的直接的聯(lián)系。

2. 解析：選B。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章最后一段可知，Ms Bettencourt被富人遨請(qǐng)去搞室內(nèi)設(shè)計(jì)。

3. 解析：選C。推理判斷題。從文章最后一段可知，那些擁有豪宅的富人也重新裝修居住環(huán)境，原因是他們也開(kāi)始轉(zhuǎn)向家庭娛樂(lè)。

4. 解析：選A。主旨大意題。概括全文可知，本文主要論述的是美國(guó)人在經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)的影響下，娛樂(lè)方式的轉(zhuǎn)變，家庭娛樂(lè)正在成為一種潮流。

5. 解析：選D。推理判斷題。娛樂(lè)也應(yīng)該是人們生活方式的一種，因此D項(xiàng)正確。