09雅思阅读实战训练(十一)

　　Selling Digital Music without Copy-protection Makes Sense

　　A.It was uncharacteristically low-key for the industry’s greatest showman. But the essay published this week by Steve Jobs， the boss of Apple， on his firm’s website under the unassuming title “Thoughts on Music” has nonetheless provoked a vigorous debate about the future of digital music， which Apple dominates with its iPod music-player and iTunes music-store. At issue is “digital rights management” —the technology guarding downloaded music against theft. Since there is no common standard for DRM， it also has the side-effect that songs purchased for one type of music-player may not work on another. Apple’s DRM system， called FairPlay， is the most widespread. So it came as a surprise when Mr. Jobs called for DRM for digital music to be abolished.

　　B.This is a change of tack for Apple. It has come under fire from European regulators who claim that its refusal to license FairPlay to other firms has “locked in” customers. Since music from the iTunes store cannot be played on non-iPod music-players ， any iTunes buyer will be deterred from switching to a device made by a rival firm， such as Sony or Microsoft. When French lawmakers drafted a bill last year compelling Apple to open up FairPlay to rivals， the company warned of “state-sponsored piracy”. Only DRM， it implied， could keep the pirates at bay.

　　C.This week Mr. Jobs gave another explanation for his former defence of DRM: the record companies made him do it. They would make their music available to the iTunes store only if Apple agreed to protect it using DRM. They can still withdraw their catalogues if the DRM system is compromised. Apple cannot license FairPlay to others， says Mr Jobs， because it would depend on them to produce security fixes promptly. All DRM does is restrict consumer choice and provide a barrier to entry， says Mr Jobs; without it there would be far more stores and players， and far more innovation. So， he suggests， why not do away with DRM and sell music unprotected? “This is clearly the best alternative for consumers，” he declares， “and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat.”

　　D.Why the sudden change of heart? Mr Jobs seems chiefly concerned with getting Europe’s regulators off his back. Rather than complaining to Apple about its use of DRM， he suggests， “those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free.” Two and a half of the four big record companies， he helpfully points out， are European-owned. Mr Jobs also hopes to paint himself as a consumer champion. Apple resents accusations that it has become the Microsoft of digital music.

　　E.Apple can afford to embrace open competition in music players and online stores. Consumers would gravitate to the best player and the best store， and at the moment that still means Apple’s. Mr Jobs is evidently unfazed by rivals to the iPod. Since only 3% of the music in a typical iTunes library is protected， most of it can already be used on other players today， he notes. So Apple’s dominance evidently depends far more on branding and ease of use than DRM-related “lock in”.

　　F.The music giants are trying DRM-free downloads. Lots of smaller labels already sell music that way. Having seen which way the wind is blowing， Mr Jobs now wants to be seen not as DRM’s defender， but as a consumer champion who helped in its downfall. Wouldn’t it lead to a surge in piracy? No， because most music is still sold unprotected on CDs， people wishing to steal music already can do so. Indeed， scrapping DRM would probably increase online-music sales by reducing confusion and incompatibility. With the leading online store， Apple would benefit most. Mr Jobs’s argument， in short， is transparently self-serving. It also happens to be right.

　　Questions 1-7

　　Do the following statemets reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?

　　Write your answer in Boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

　　TRUE if the statement reflets the claims of the writer

　　FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

　　NOT GIVEN if it is impossbile to say what the writer thinks about this

　　1. Apple enjoys a controlling position in digital music market with its iPod music-player and iTunes music-store.

　　2. DRM is a government decree issued with a purpose to protect downloaded music from theft by consumers.

　　3. Lack of standardization in DRM makes songs bought for one kind of music player may not function on another.

　　4. Apple has been criticized by European regulators since it has refused to grant a license FairPlay to other firms.

　　5. All music can be easily played on non-iPod music devices from Sony or Microsoft without too much fiddling.

　　6. Apple depends far more on DRM rather than branding for its dominance of the digital music devices.

　　7. If DRM was cancelled， Sony would certainly dominate the international digital music market.

　　Questions 8-10

　　Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 8-10 on your answe sheet.

　　8. Which of the following statements about Mr. Jobs’ idea of DRM is NOT TRUE?

　　A. DRM places restrictions on consumer’ choice of digital music products available.

　　B. DRM comples iTunes buyers to switch to a device made by Sony or Microsoft.

　　C. DRM constitutes a barrier for potential consumers to enter digital music markets.

　　D. DRM hinders development of more stores and players and technical innovation.

　　9. The word “unfazed” in line 3 of paragraph E， means___________.

　　A. refused

　　B. welcomed

　　C. not bothered

　　D. not well received

　　10. Which of the following statements is TRUE if DRM was scapped?

　　A. Sony would gain the most profit.

　　B. More customers would be “locked in”.

　　C. A sudden increase in piracy would occur.

　　D. Online-music sales would probably decrease.

　　Questions 11-14

　　Complete the notes below.

　　Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 1 for each answer.

　　Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

　　Mr. Steve Jobs， the boss of Apple， explains the reason why he used to defend DRM， saying that the company was forced to do so: the record companies would make their music accessible to …11...only if they agreed to protect it using DRM; they can still…12…if the DRM system is compromised. He also provides the reason why Apple did not license FairPlay to others: the company relies on them to …13….But now he changes his mind with a possible expectation that Europe’s regulators would not trouble him any more in the future. He proposes that those who are unsatisfactory with the current situation in digital music market should …14… towards persuade the music companies to sell their music DRM-free

　　Part II

　　Notes to Reading Passage 1

　　1. low-key:

　　抑制的，受约束的，屈服的

　　2. showman:

　　开展览会的人， 出风头的人物

　　3. unassuming:

　　谦逊的， 不夸耀的， 不装腔作势的

　　4. iPod：

　　(苹果公司出产的)音乐播放器

　　5. iTunes store：

　　(苹果公司出产的)在线音乐商店

　　6. get off person‘s back:

　　不再找某人的麻烦，摆脱某人的纠缠

　　7. gravitate:

　　受吸引，倾向于

　　8. unfazed:

　　不再担忧，不被打扰

　　Part III

　　Keys and explanations to the Questions 1-13

　　1. TRUE

　　See the second sentence in Paragraph A “… the future of digital music， which Apple dominates with its iPod music-player and iTunes music-store.”

　　2. FALSE

　　See the third sentence in Paragraph A “…At issue is “digital rights management” —the technology guarding downloaded music against theft.”

　　3. TRUE

　　See the fourth sentence in Paragraph A “Since there is no common standard for DRM， it also has the side-effect that songs purchased for one type of music-player may not work on another.”

　　4. TRUE

　　See the second sentence in Paragraph B “It has come under fire from European regulators who claim that its refusal to license FairPlay to other firms has “locked in” customers.”

　　5. NOT GIVEN

　　The third sentence in Paragaph B only mentions music from the iTunes store， nothing about that of Sony or Microsoft. “Since music from the iTunes store cannot be played on non-iPod music-players .”

　　6. FALSE

　　See the last sentence in Paragraph E “So Apple’s dominance evidently depends far more on branding and ease of use than DRM-related “lock in”.

　　7. NOT GIVEN

　　See the fourth sentence in Paragraph F only mentions music generally， no particular information about business prospect of Sony “Indeed， scrapping DRM would probably increase online-music sales by reducing confusion and incompatibility.”

　　8. B

　　See the fourth sentence of Paragraph C “All DRM does is restrict consumer choice and provide a barrier to entry， says Mr Jobs; without it there would be far more stores and players， and far more innovation.”

　　9. C

　　See the third sentence of Paragraph E and the context “Mr Jobs is evidently unfazed by rivals to the iPod. Since only 3% of the music in a typical iTunes library is protected， most of it can already be used on other players today.”

　　10. A

　　See the last four sentences of Paragraph F “Wouldn’t it lead to a surge in piracy? No， because most music is still sold unprotected on CDs， people wishing to steal music already can do so. Indeed， scrapping DRM would probably increase online-music sales by reducing confusion and incompatibility. With the leading online store， Apple would benefit most.”

　　11. the iTunes store

　　See the second sentence of Paragraph C “They would make their music available to the iTunes store only if Apple agreed to protect it using DRM.”

　　12. withdraw their catalogues

　　See the third sentence of Paragraph C “They can still withdraw their catalogues if the DRM system is compromised.”

　　13. produce security fixes

　　See the fourth sentence of Paragraph C “Apple cannot license FairPlay to others， says Mr Jobs， because it would depend on them to produce security fixes promptly.”

　　14. redirect their energies

　　See the second sentence of Paragraph D “Rather than complaining to Apple about its use of DRM， he suggests， “those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free.”

　　雅思阅读的题型一直是考生比较关注的问题，分析认为主要有以下两个原因：

　　1. 有相对简单和相对费时的题型;

　　2.每个考生都有自己擅长的和较害怕的题型。具体来说：对于词汇不足的考生可能最害怕段落标题匹配题及摘要归纳填空题;对于词汇量较大的考生来说，是非无判断题，段落标题匹配题和摘要归纳填空题可能是比较简单的。选择题和其它匹配题是相对来说比较费时的，所以大部分考生都很害怕这类题型。

　　那么，面对上面所提到的这些情况，考生应该在题型方面怎样备考呢?

　　首先，专家认为考生必须从心理上准备迎接所有的题型，在备考中要尽可能喜欢所有题型。有的考生会一次次地祈祷：“希望这次考试不要有选择题或段落细节信息定位题!”这样做，其实是无形中给自己制造了负面的影响。考试题型不是我们所能预料和控制的，一旦有了上述心理，很有可能一看到题型就慌了，一开始就没有一个好的状态。还有一部份考生喜欢跟着考题回忆和机经走，看到上次考了什么题就在备考中只关注那些题型。考题回忆和机经可以看看，但只能做参考，考生千万不要被它们所左右。否则就是自己给自己制造障碍。

　　其次，考生必须对各类题型的题型特点和答题注意事项了如指掌。雅思阅读考试时间之短，文章之学术性，题量之大，题型之多等特点决定了考生势必会感觉时间不够。考生要在有限的时间内答完所有的题并尽可能地保证较高的正确率确实不是一件容易的事情。考生除了要有一定的词汇量和阅读速度之外，常见的雅思阅读技巧和解题策略是必须的。而解题策略很多时候是建立在考生熟悉题型特点的基础之上的。比如说，考生拿到一篇文章绝不是从第1题接到13题，而是应该分析各组题型的特点和难易，由易到难。同样，考生也可以根据3篇各自的题型来初步判断哪一篇的题型可能对自己比较有利，那篇可能较难，以便能灵活地采取合适的策略。

　　最后，专家建议考生在考前进行练习时，不要光做套题，而应该偶尔穿插一些专题的练习，重点练习自己没什么把握的题型。注意练习时时间的掌控是很重要的，不要给自己30分钟完成6道是非无，那样不能达到训练的目的，不能保证良好的效果。