A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal's office at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teacher, not his cellphone. The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr. Gallagher noticed the student's fingers moving on his lap. He was texting while being scolded for texting!
"It was a subconscious(下意识的) act," said Mr. Gallagher, who took the phone away. "Young people today are connected socially from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close their eyes at night. It's addictive(上瘾的). They can’t simply stop doing that."
Because so many people in their teens and early 20s are in this constant whir of socializing – accessible(易接近的) to each other every minute of the day via cellphone, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites -- there are a host of new questions that need to be addressed in schools, in the workplace and at home. Chief among them: How much work can "hyper-socializing" students or employees really accomplish if they are holding multiple conversations with friends via text-messaging, or are obsessively checking Facebook? Almost a quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a 2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a non-profit group that monitors media's impact on families.
Will these young people get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or will employers come to see texting and "social-network checking" as accepted parts of the workday?
"In past generations, students got in trouble for passing notes in class. Now students are adept at texting with their phones still in their pockets," said 40-year-old Mr. Gallagher, "and they're able to communicate with someone one floor down and three rows over. Students are just fundamentally different today. They will take suspensions(休学) rather than give up their phones."
When the boy was scolded for texting, _________________.
A.he was polite and regretful |
B.he was trying sending another message |
C.his fingers shouldn’t be put on his lap |
D.he listened carefully and nodded |
From what the boy did we know___________.
A.Using the cellphone is addictive for the boy |
B.The boy will stop using the cellphone |
C.The boy will leave school |
D.The boy wasn’t willing to accept being scolded |
What can we learn about the students in their teens and early 20s?
A.All of them are addicted to using cellphones. |
B.They will get rid of the habit once they go to work. |
C.They are greatly different from the past generations. |
D.Most of them check Facebook more than 10 times a day. |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Facebook is a kind of book students need to read at school. |
B.The employers will accept texting at workday. |
C.The students will give up their phones one day. |
D.It’s convenient for students to communicate with others with cellphones. |