Passage 7
There’s a great story about an old Finnish woman who,without quite realizing it,was using her cell-phone to access the Internet and track her city’s public transit system.When asked why she used the wireless Internet so frequently,she replied,“What are you talking about?I don’t know anything about this wireless Internet stuff,I just know the bus is here.”
Regardless of whether you want to admit it,a lot of us are like that old Finnish woman.When it comes to new mobile applications,many of us do not realize the capability and power that we hold,literally,in our hands.
What we’re looking at today is the mobile Internet in its infancy.Now that using the Internet from home or work has saturated much of society,the next logical step is to be able to use the Net when you’re away from your desktop or laptop.Speech recognition is one way to do this,and there are a number of services,collectively called the“voice Web”,that will make this possible.All you do is use a phone or wireless device to call a phone number,and speak commands to an intuitive system.It will then give you the information you’re seeking,using either a synthesized voice or an audio file.
In the United States and Europe,the hot technology for wireless devices is called WAP (Wireless Application Protocol),which is being considered as the world standard.WAP is supported by major phone companies including Nokia,Motorola and Ericsson,and is simply a means of transmitting information,much like HTML is a means of communicating on the Internet.
Currently,wireless Internet connections may give you news,sports scores,stock quotes,and the weather if you’re lucky.But if you’ve ever used this technology,you know it’s slow,costly and doesn’t seem worth the time and effort,if it works at all.“The mobile Internet was never designed to take over surfing the Web from a computer,”explains Cherie Gary,spokeswoman at Nokia.
All of this technology points to easier living.Perhaps you’ll need to find a restaurant for an occasional business meeting.You’ll press a button on your mobile phone,and access the Internet to pull up a list of great restaurants in your immediate area.You’ll hit another button,say a few words into the handset and you’ve got a reservation for four.
1.The author uses the story of an old Finnish woman to indicate that____.
A.she is illiterate of some common knowledge
B.public transit system contains the access to Internet
C.many people are unaware of the function of new appliances
D.the Internet is experiencing rapid growth
2.The word“saturated”(Line 2,Para.3)most probably means____.
A.stated B.utilized C.despised D.filled
3.According to the text,WAP is a____.
A.technology standard set by major phone companies
B.substitution of HTML which can be applied on the Internet
C.means of exchanging information on the Internet
D.wireless application protocol signed in the USA and Europe
4.We can infer from the text that the mobile Internet is different from the previous Internet in that the mobile Internet____.
A.can be accessed by desktop
B.doesn’t need wire appliances
C.can book the table for the user
D.has speech recognition system
5.What is the attitude of the author towards the future of the mobile Internet?
A.Indifferent.B.Neutral.
C.Optimistic.D.Pessimistic.
Words&Expressions
access to 有使用……的通路;途径(https://www.daowen.com)
transit v./n. 转换
when it comes to
当谈论到……
literally adv. 事实上
device n. 装置
synthesized adj. 合成的
文章大意
有这样一个街知巷闻的故事:一个芬兰的老妇人懵懵懂懂地用她的手机访问互联网以查询她所在城市的公共交通系统。当被问到为什么那么频繁地使用无线互联网时,她回答说:“我对这个有关无线互联网的东西一无所知,我只想知道公交车在哪里。”
不管你承认与否,我们中的许多人就像那个芬兰老妇人那样。当遇到新型的移动手机时,很多人都不知道我们手上握着的物体到底有怎样的性能和功用。
现在的移动互联网正处于幼年时期。既然互联网的使用已经渗透到社会的各个方面,不管用户是在家或在公司里,那么下一个合理的举措就是在离开办公桌或笔记本电脑时还可以访问此网络。语音识别技术可以做到这一点,它和其他的很多服务使这一设想成为可能,这些服务统称为“语音网”。你只要用电话或无线设备拨一个电话号码,然后对“直观系统”说出你的要求,它就会用合成的声音或音频文件告诉你所想要的信息。
在美国和欧洲,无线设备的热门技术叫“WAP(无线应用协议)”,这个协议实际上已成为国际标准。包括诺基亚、摩托罗拉和爱立信等几家主要厂商都支持这个协议,它是一种传输信息的手段,就像“超文本链接标示语言(HTML)”一样,是互联网上的一种交流手段。
如果你够幸运的话,通过无线互联网,你也许可以得到一些新闻、比赛结果、股市行情和天气预报等。但如果你曾用过这种技术,你就会觉得它不但昂贵而且奇慢无比,根本不值得你为此付出那么多的时间和精力。对此,诺基亚的发言人琪莉·加里解释说:“设计移动互联网不是为了代替电脑做网上冲浪用的。”
这些技术的目的是使我们的生活变得更简单。又或许你需要为一次临时举行的商务会议找一家酒店,你可以按一下手机上的某个按钮,访问互联网以得到附近地区大酒店的名单,再按一下另一个按键,对着手机说几句话,你就可预订一个四人座的位子。
答案、考点及解析
1.【答案】C
【考点】区分论点和论据
【解析】文章开头讲述了一个芬兰老妇人并不知道她所使用的新技术到底有怎样的功能。这个例子是论据,旨在论述第二段提出的论点:“When it comes to new mobile applications,many of us do not realize the capability and power that we hold,literally,in our hands.(当遇到新型的移动手机时,很多人都不知道我们手上握着的物体到底有怎样的性能和功用。)”这正是C项的内容。A项的内容文章没有提及;B项和D项的内容并不是这个例子要论述的论点,所以这三项都是错误答案。
2.【答案】D
【考点】根据上下文猜测词义
【解析】由于saturated出现的句子中并没有结构连词,比如and,or,也没有出现这个词的近义词或反义词,所以只有靠上下文的意思来推测词义。主句的意思是:“那么下一个合理的举措就是在离开办公桌或笔记本电脑时还可以访问此网络。”主句中的“now that”是“既然”的意思,综合从句和各个选项,可以得出saturated只有是“充满”的意思,上下文才可以讲得通。整句话的意思为:既然互联网的使用已经渗透到社会的各个方面,不管用户是在家或在公司里,那么下一个合理的举措就是在离开办公桌或笔记本电脑时还可以访问此网络。
3.【答案】C
【考点】理解文中概念性含义
【解析】原文第四段向读者介绍了什么是WAP,而且运用了很多长句,对此下定义。考生可以利用排除法解答此题。A项错在原文指出:“WAP is supported by major phone companies(包括诺基亚、摩托罗拉和爱立信等几家主要厂商都支持这个协议)”,可见主要厂商是支持协议而不是制定协议;B项错在第四段指出:“much like HTML is a means of communicating on the Internet(就像超文本链接标示语言——HTML一样,是互联网上的一种交流手段)”,所以WAP和HTML是相似的关系,而不是替代的关系;C项为正确答案,是第四段最后一句话的改写,“它是一种传输信息的手段,是互联网上的一种交流手段”;D项错在原文并没有提到WAP是在美国和欧洲签署的协议。
4.【答案】B
【考点】对文章内容的推断、引申
【解析】文章第三段指出:“
the next logical step is to be able to use the Net when you’re away from your desktop or laptop.(下一个合理的举措就是在离开办公桌或笔记本电脑时还可以访问此网络。)”第四段开头又介绍说:“
the hot technology for wireless devices is called WAP.(无线设备的热门技术叫‘无线应用协议’。)”由此可以推断出mobile internet不需要有线设备就可以上网,这正是C项的内容。A项的内容是Internet的特征;C、D两项与题干无关。
5.【答案】C
【考点】理解作者的态度
【解析】尽管文章第五段提出了目前移动互联网的缺点,但文章第六段开头作者指出:“All of this technology points to easier living(这些技术的目的是使我们的生活变得更简单)”,然后介绍了在将来,这种技术如何使酒店预订变得十分简单。由此可见,作者对于移动互联网的前景是十分乐观的。