"Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell." This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it. 

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

    Picture this, you're rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?

Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no car, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live a simpler live.

     One family in the UK went "back in time" to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones. The grandmother, Lyn, said, "The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes." The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a "trendy, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things"   

    Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time， computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn't work well. If one computer in the network broke down， then the whole network stopped. So a few network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working， information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time.

    At first the Internet was only used by the government， but in the early 1970s， universities， hospitals and banks were allowed to use it， too. However， computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of 1990s， computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made "surfing" the Internet easier.

    Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mails is more and more popular among young people. The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life.

    Computers can injure you. Most other injuries happen suddenly. For example, if you fall off a bicycle and break your arm, it happens very quickly. But computer injuries happen slowly.

Your eyes

    Too much light can injure your eyes, so never sit too close to a computer screen. Your eyes should be at least 50 centimeters from the screen. Remember to look away from it sometimes. This gives your eyes a rest.

    When you use a computer, the window should be on your left or your right. If it is behind you, the light will reflect(反射) on the screen. If the windows is in front of you, the sun and the screen will both shine into your eyes.

Your hands and wrists(手腕)

    Hand and wrist injuries can happen because the hands and wrists are moved in the same way hundreds of times. If you use a keyboard for a long times, follow these three rules:  1) Rest your wrists on something.  2) Keep your elbows at the same height as the keyboard.  3) Stop sometimes and exercise your hands, wrists and fingers in a different way.

Your back

    Some people sit for many hours in front of a computer. If you sit in a wrong way, you can injure your back or your neck. So you should sit with your back straight. The top part of the screen should be in front of your eyes. Your forearms(前臂), wrists and hands should all be parallel to(与......平衡) the floor. If you are sitting for a long time, get up every 30 minutes and exercise your arms, legs and neck.

    Enjoy your computer, but use it safely.

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