A funny thing happened on the way to the communication revolution(革命): we stopped talking to one another.

   I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and suddenly, I became invisible(看不见的), absent from the conversation.

   The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communication technology is a tragedy(悲剧) to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice-mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.

   As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated(自动化), the emotional distance index goes up. You can’t even call a person to get the phone number of another person any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.

   I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn’t wise. They’re a great help to us. Itˈs some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.

   More and more, I find myself hiding behind e­mail to do a job meant for conversations or being relieved with voice-mail picked up because I donˈt really have time to talk. The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier.

   So I’ve put myself on the technology restriction: no instant messaging with people who live near me, no cell phoning in the presence of friends.

(1) Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
A. The Consequences of Communication Technology B. The Development of Modern Technology C. The Story of Communication Revolution D. The Automation of Modern Communication
(2) The underlined sentence “ Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent”in Para.3 means that ________.
A. the people sitting beside you have to go away to receive a phone call. B. you can hardly get in touch with the people sitting beside you. C. modern technology makes it hard for people to have a face-to­face talk. D. people can now go to work without going to the office.
(3) Which is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. The author has decided not to use his phone when he is with his friend. B. Modern technology makes people have less real communication. C. The limited use of communication device brings much inconvenience to the author. D. The industry intended to keep people in touch is taking them away from each other.
(4) The writer feels that the use of modern communication is ______.
A. satisfying B. embarrassing C. disappointing D. encouraging