What happens to our digital afterlife

甘肃甘谷县第二中学 刘小军

题材文章词数人与社会386 难度 ★★★★体裁建议用时说明文7′

What happens to our images on social media or the Internet after we die?Evan Carroll is someone who thinks a lot about this question.

Carroll co-wrote a book called Your Digital Afterlife.He said there are companies that will collect your passwords and online information and then provide all the important details to your family so they can make sure your accounts are settled after you die.Some online businesses will put together the digital story of your life—tokeepyour memoryalivelong after you die.Some companies will even send out messages for you to your friends and family members after your death.

There are some concerns,however.Carroll said one problem is that it is normal toput offdealing with death.Many people hope and believe death is far off into the future.Another problem is that companies sometimesgo out of business.

Carroll said people are not happy getting messages on their Facebook Page about birthdays for friends who died.Now,Facebook will let a friend or relative “memorialize”a Facebook friend's page,as long as they can provide proof of the death.That can be a copy of a death notice.In 2015,Facebook set up another program.It lets a person choose a family member or friend who can supervise the individual's Facebook account after they die.“That person can write information about a memorial service,or share a special message or memory,”Facebook said.

One group working to create digital memories is the Hereafter Institute at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California.Started a year ago,the Instituteoffers peoplethe chanceto learn how they can plan their digital afterlife.For example,people can place personal information and video images into a piece of jewelry as a future memorial.Video lets people think about how friends and family members moved,or reacted to jokes or how they laughed.

Carolina Miranda is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times newspaper.She recently spent time at the Institute.She said the image works as a memorial,although it is not exactly a perfect copy.“I don't think it would ever be in danger of becoming something that you could almostgrow attached tobecause it's a replacement of that person，” Miranda said.

Reading Check

1.What are the three ways companies deal with the digital afterlife?_

2.How does Carolina Miranda like the idea offered by the Hereafter Institute?

Language Study

Difficult sentence

He said there are companies that will collect your passwords and online information and then provide all the important details to your family so they can make sure your accounts are settled after you die.

翻译：_______________________________

【点石成金】本句为主从复合句。主句为He said...，there are companies是宾语从句，关系代词that引导的是定语从句，修饰先行词companies；collect和 provide为并列谓语；so在句中引导目的状语从句；your accounts are settled after you die则为省略了引导词that的宾语从句。

Using Language

I.Important phrases in the text

1.keep...alive使……存活

2.put off推迟

3.go out of business歇业；破产

4.offer sb the chance to do sth给某人提供机会做某事

5.be/grow attached to依恋；上瘾

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the phrases given above.

1.I_________ every tree and bush in my hometown.

2.The company he worked in_________last year.

3.Never_________till tomorrow what you can do today.

4.The doctors tried everything to_________him_________but to no avail.

5.If I_________go,I'd take it like a shot.