A funny thing happened on the way to the communication revolution: we stopped talking

to each other.

1 was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his mobile phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and - poof! -1 was cut off as if I had become absent from the conversation.

The park was filled with people talking on their cell phones. They were passing people without looking at them, saying hello, noticing their babies or stopping to pat their dogs. It seems that the limitless electronic voice is preferred to human contact.

The telephone is used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people feel absent.

Recently l was in a car with three friends. The driver hushed the rest of us because he could not hear the person on the other end of his cell phone. There we were, four friends driving down the highway, unable to talk to each other because of the small thing designed to make communication easier.

Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel？ Every advance in communication technology is a setback(退步) to the closeness of human interaction.

With e-mail and instant message over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice mail, you can make entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, Ijust leave the answer on her machine.

As almost every contact between human beings gets automatic, the emotional Distance index goes up. Pumping gas at the station？ Why say good-morning to the assistant when you can swipe you credit card at the pump and save yourself the bother of human contact？

Making a deposit at the bank？ Why talk to the clerk who lives in the neighborhood when you Ctin put your Ctird into the ATM l More and more, I find myself hiding behind e-mail to do a job meant for conversation orbeing relieved that voice mail picked up because I didn’t really have time to talk.

The technology devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier. I own a mobile phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail telephone, and an e-mail account.

Giving them up isn’t a choice. They are great for what they are intended to do. It’s their unintended results that make me upset. What good is all this gee-whiz technology if there isno one in the room to hear you crying out Gee whiz ？

26.The author’s experience of walking in a park with a friend recently made him feel ().

A.unhappy

B.funny

C.wonderful

27.According to the author, human contact in a park means ().

A.Iookmg at each other and saying hello when passing

B.noticing their babies and stopping to pat their dogs

C.both A and B

28.According to the author, the more connected we get in communication technology, the () we are.

A.more automatic

B.easier

C.more disconnected

29.What are the examples the author gives to explain his idea that every advance in communication technology is a setback to the closeness of human interaction？()

A.With e-mail and instant message over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another

B.With voice mail, you can make entire conversations without ever reaching anyone

C.Both A and B

30.What is the unintended result of communication technology, according to the author？()

A.It makes communication easier and conversation possible everywhere

B.It actually creates a distance between people instead of bringing them together

C.It makes every contact between human beings automatic and makes people Feel connected