《06新新英语系列英语阅读108篇》Text31
Text 31
题材：计算机难度：★★字数：366建议时间：10分钟
In promising to fuse media as diverse as television,telephone communication,video games,music and data transmission,the era of digital convergence goes better than yesterday's celebrated “information superhighway.” Yet achieving this single technology is far from straightforward.There are currently three major television broadcast standards,and they are all incompatible with each other.But this is nothing compared to the many technologies supporting the Internet,each with a different bandwidth and physical media.The problems faced in designing platforms and communication systems that will be accepted across the world can appear insuperable.
Even once global standards are assured,however,a further obstacle lies in wait.The Internet is plagued by long,erratic response times because it is a pull-technology,driven by patterns of user demands.Push-technology,on the other hand,reverses the relationship: servers simply send information to passive users,as in television and radio.But if some form of combination between one-way television flow and interactive Internet is to be the basis of our future media,it is hard to see how it could be operated.Moreover,the problem of fusing Internet with television is also one of defining the services offered.Information,entertainment and relaxation appear at first to be quite different needs.Serious doubts remain over whether consumers will be interested in having to make the sort of mental effort associated with computing while also settling down in front of a sitcom.
Besides the issue of consumer habits,infrastructure costs are set to be immense,and will have to be met by national states or the private sector before being passed on to users.Platforms do not necessarily have to be expensive.The mobile phone is a good example of how something that is technologically sophisticated can almost be given away,with its cost recovered through service charges.Users are then coerced through clever marketing to upgrade to newer phones with more features to reinforce their dependence.
Whatever the outcome,it is obvious that technology will play an increasing part in our everyday lives.Beyond technology,digital convergence embraces the services,industrial practices and social behavior that form modern society.We have in our hands the technology to construct the most sophisticated machines ever built,but if they are unusable,simply because of their operating instructions,then recent lessons have taught us they will not survive.Whatever we design must be simple,reliable and useful.Perhaps this is where artificial intelligence will come in.
1.By digital convergence,the author means
[A] diversification of the communication systems.
[B] separating entertainment and communication.
[C] integrating the various means of media.
[D] straightforward transmission of data.
2.What is pull technology?
[A] It is the Internet system affected by long, uncertain response times.
[B] It is the way of business operation driven by user demands.
[C] It is the technology to send information to passive users.
[D] It is a way to blend one-way television with interactive Internet.
3.Why is it difficult to combine television and the Internet?
[A] Because there are no global standards for the combination.
[B] Because the two are operated on different principles of services.
[C] Because television is uninteractive,while the Internet is interactive.
[D] Because the combination overlooks the consumers' different needs.
4.As far as the cost for digital convergence is concerned,
[A] the expenses for building the basic facilities are too immense to be met.
[B] the infrastructure costs should be paid by national states and the private sector alone.
[C] the cost for building a platform can be recovered by collecting service charges.
[D] the high cost can be covered by effective marketing to attract more customers.
5.What may finally help to achieve digital convergence?
[A] Designing platforms and communication systems with global standards.
[B] Winning recognition from users who have different expectations for different media.
[C] Developing a network advanced enough to support the integration of media.
[D] Using artificial intelligence to design simple,reliable and useful products.
答案解析
1.C语义题。本题要求考生理解文中的概念性含义。文中第一段给出了digital convergence（数字集成）的定义，即将电视、电话、游戏、音乐和数据传输融为一体（to fuse media as diverse as television, telephone communication, video games, music and data transmission）。故正确答案为C。
2.B语义题。本题要求考生理解文中的概念性含义。第二段中作者谈及在实现数字集成的过程中存在的另一障碍——各种媒体不同经营理念（pull technology and push technology）。从上下文可知，pull technology是指那种以消费者需求为中心的服务理念。故B为正确答案。
3.B主旨题。文章第二段由总到分，由概括到细节，并以互联网和电视结合的具体困难做例子，分析了数字集成难以实现的一个重要原因——各种媒体不同的服务理念。故B为正确答案。此题中，考生必须注意区分论点和论据，从具体分析和事例中概括段落主旨。
4.C细节题，要求考生准确理解文中的具体信息。本题问及数字集成过程中存在的另一障碍——高额成本。但是本文作者并没有对此展开论述，而是针对这一问题，通过移动电话推广成功的实例，提出了解决的方案。故C为正确答案。
5.D观点题。本题要求考生准确把握文章的总体结构和段落之间的关系，概括作者的观点。在文章的末尾作者总结到，数字集成的实现不仅仅是技术支持的问题，它涉及到服务、商业经营和构成现代社会的种种社会行为（Beyond technology, digital convergence embraces the services, industrial practices and social behavior that form modern society.）作者还进一步提出人工智能技术或许能够帮助解决目前的问题。
参考译文
希望把媒体结合起来并像电视、电话、游戏、音乐和数据传输一样富有变化，数字集成时代将比以前着名的信息高速公路发展得好。要得到这单一的技术不是那么容易的。当前有三大主要电视广播标准是互不相容的。他们都无法跟许多支持网络的技术相比，他们各自有不同的宽带和物理介质。面向世界范围内接受的设计平台和交流体系，这个问题是不可克服的。
即使一旦确定全球标准，还会出现更多的障碍。网络因其反映时间长却不稳定而痛苦，因为这是以消费者需求为中心的“拉动技术”。推动技术与此相反，服务器只是把信息传给被动使用者，像电视和录音机一样。但是，单向传播的电视和互动网络之间某些方式的结合是我们未来媒体的基础。很难知道它是如何操作的。此外，网络和电视集成问题被定义为提供的服务之一。信息、娱乐和休闲对于不同需要都是第一位的。现在严重的疑虑是当消费者坐下来看连续剧时，是否有兴趣用电脑做些智力游戏。
除了消费者的习惯问题，基础设施的成本开始是很大的。在到达用户之前，先由政府和私人组织过目。平台不需要很昂贵。移动电话就是一个很好的例子，它说明复杂的技术也可以攻克。通过改变服务来重新获得成本。在敏锐的市场，被迫升级为有更多功能的，更新的电话以加强信任度。
不管结果如何，技术将在我们日常生活中起着越来越重要的作用。除了技术，数字集成还包括服务、商业经营和构成现代社会的种种行为。我们要用手中的技术建造最精密的机器。最近的事实告诉我们，如果仅仅因为操作指令而不能使用，那么它们将不能存在。无论如何，我们的设计必须简单、可靠且实用。这也许就是人工智能的来源。
《06新新英语系列英语阅读108篇》Text31的延伸阅读——复习英语要讲究技巧
一，重视单词。
从第一天开始复习到考试的前一天，考试大纲词汇就应不离手，因为这是一切的基础。考试大纲是命题专家出题的依据、基础，所以考生一定要重视。背单词时，可以总结同义词、一词多义以及包含“高级”短语的句子，然后跟同桌的研友们对话，或者“厚颜无耻”地主动向他们“炫耀”，同时也坚持参加英语辩论活动，把自己最新积累的词句一一“亮”出，这样考生会感觉记得特别牢固。
二，日积月累。
作为一门语言，充满了繁琐与细节的，想一口吃成大胖子是不太现实的，必须耐心地积累“量变”以求“质变”。学习英语的时间安排也是有规律可循的，如果你一天安排3个小时学英语，那么与其一鼓作气学3个小时倒不如改成上下午各1.5小时。持续学习、及时复习才能收到较为理想的效果。可以参照着名的“艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线”来合理安排时间，最大限度地降低遗忘率，以获得较好的学习效果。
三，研读真题。
历年考研英语全真试题是了解考研水平的最快途径，也是熟悉命题规律的唯一途径。所以要在老师的指导下分阶段复习考研英语真题。找一个安静的环境，先用一周的时间做一套真题，做完后，对自己的错题先看一下怎么错的，错在哪里，能不能解决。剩下的时间要分析题型，也就是看这些题目是属于细节题、推理题，还是主旨大意题……当复习完十年的真题，建议考生放20天左右的时间，重新再做真题，分析自己的做题思路，考前一个月适当做些高质量的模拟题练练手。另外，希望考生真题至少看三遍。第一遍先做，做完之后归纳总结错题的原因。第二遍主要精读文章解决单词句子翻译。第三遍前两遍的内容都要看。
四，增加课外阅读。
课外阅读在考研英语复习中占有重要地位，对提高成绩有很大作用，建议大家订一份《英语世界》杂志，阅读上面的文章，也会有不少收获。如果有条件，看看自己学校图书馆是否有这本书，有的话坚持看，肯定会有收获的！
希望以上的介绍对2013的考研同学有所帮助，另外，大家在学习英语学习方法时，要从自身实际出发，选择真正适合自己的复习方法。 | 
