Text 1
One great benefit of the Web is that it allows us to move information online that now resides in paper form. Several states in America are using the Web in a profound way. You can apply for various permits or submit applications for business licences. Some states are putting up listings of jobs—not just state government jobs, but all the jobs available in the state. I believe, over time, that all the information that governments print, and all those paper forms they now have, will be moved on to the Internet.
Electronic commerce notches up month-by-month too. It is difficult to measure, because a lot of electronic commerce involves existing buyers and sellers who are simply moving paperbased transactions to the Web. That is not new business. Microsoft, for example, purchases millions of dollars of PCs online instead of by paper. However, that is not a fundamental change; it has just improved the efficiency of an existing process. The biggest impact has occurred where electronic commerce matches buyers and sellers who would not previously have found each other. When you go to a book site and find an obscure book that you never would have found in a physical bookstore, that is a new type of commerce.
Today, about half of all PCs are still not connected to the Web. Getting communications costs down and making all the software simpler will bring in those people. And that, in turn, will move us closer to the critical mass that will make the Web lifestyle everyone’s lifestyle. One element that people underestimate is the degree to which the hardware and software will improve. Just take one aspect: screen technology. I do my e-mail on a 20-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. It is not available at a reasonable price yet, but in two years it will be. In ten years, a 20-inch LCD with much higher resolution will be commonplace. The boundary between a television set and a PC will be blurred because even the set-top box that you connect up to your cable or satellite will have a processor more powerful than what we have today in the most expensive PC. This will, in effect, make your television a computer.
Interaction with the Web also will improve, making it much easier for people to be involved. Today the keywords we use to search the Web often return to too many articles to sort through, many of them out of context. If you want to learn about the fastest computer chip available, you might end up getting responses instead about potato chips being delivered in fast trucks. In the future, we shall be either speaking or typing sentences into the computer. If you ask about the speed of chips, the result will be about computers, not potatoes. Speech recognition also means that you will be able to call in on a phone and ask if you have any new messages, or check on a flight, or check on the weather.
To predict that it will take over ten years for these changes to happen is probably pessimistic. We usually overestimate what we can do in two years and underestimate what we can do in ten. It will not be too long before the Web becomes as much a way of life as the car.[558 words]
1. Electronic commerce becomes a new type of commerce when______.
[A] paperbased transactions are moved on to the Web
[B] the efficiency of the existing process is improved by Internet
[C] new buyers and sellers find each other on the Internet
[D] a book site offers the books several bookstores have altogether
2. The use of computer will be as common as the use of cars when_______.
[A] governments begin to move administration on-line
[B] electronic commerce causes a fundamental change
[C] computer and communication become simpler and cheaper
[D] the boundary between the computer and the TV disappears
3. What is the current problem with the Web according to the passage?
[A] Too much information. [B] Lack of response.
[C] Ineffective interaction. [D] Slowness of speed.
4. The example of potato chips is used to illustrate_____.
[A] the defect of computers at the present stage of development
[B] the similarity between a computer chip and a potato chip
[C] the richness of information available on the web
[D] the irrelevant responses the web sometimes offers
5. The passage is mainly trying to show that______.
[A] the web is becoming a way of conveying information
[B] the web will bring about a new way of life
[C] electronic commerce develops with the internet
[D] interaction with the Web will become easier 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲 第5页Text 3 第6页Text 3 精讲
试题精解
1.当_____时候，电子商务成为一种新的商务方式。
[A] 以纸张为基础的交易被移到网上进行 [B] 现有交易过程的效率通过网络得到提高
[C] 新的买者和卖者可以通过网络找到对方[D] 一个购书网站提供数家书店共同拥有的书
[精解] 答案C本题考查事实细节。整个第二段围绕电子商务展开论述。该段第二句谈到：许多电子商务仅仅是现有的买家和卖家把以纸张为基础的交易移到网上进行。紧接着一句说：“这不是一种新的贸易”。所以[A]项可排除。该段第四句举例指出，微软每年在线购买数百万美元的电脑，而不是通过纸张进行。文章接着提到，“这不是个根本的变化，只是提高了现有交易过程的效率”。所以也可排除[B]项。第二段第五句提到，“当电子商务把以前不可能找到对方的买方和卖方匹配起来时，网上交易的最大影响力才出现。”因此[C]项是新的商务方式的表现。紧接着该段末句举例提到，当你去购书网站找到一本在有形的书店不能找到的毫无名气的书，那就是新形式的商务。[D]项强调书的数量，与原文不符。
2. 当_____的时候，计算机的使用会和汽车的使用一样普及。
[A] 政府部门开始把行政事务移到网上进行[B] 电子交易引起了一个根本的变化
[C] 计算机和通讯变得更加简单和便宜 [D] 计算机和电视之间的界限消失
[精解] 答案C本题考查事实细节。[A]项是第一段举出的例子，只是说明了网络带来的益处。[B]项是第二段论述中关于网上商务的内容，但它和计算机普及之间也没有根本的联系，所以也可排除。第三段前两句提到：“通讯费用的降低以及所有软件的简易化会使没有和网络连接的个人电脑实现连接，从而更接近让网络方式成为所有人的生活方式的临界点。”所以应选[C]项。[D]项在第三段最后提到，是举例说明软件(如处理器)发展的前景。
3. 根据文章内容，目前网络的问题是什么?
[A] 太多的信息。[B] 缺少回应。 [C] 低效的交流。 [D] 缓慢的速度。
[精解] 答案C本题考查推理引申。第四段前两句提到，与网络的交流将得到改善，使人们更容易参与其中。如今用关键词搜索网络会搜出太多无关内容。接着该段举了“计算机芯片”与“薯片”的例子加以说明。[A]项具有迷惑性，可本质问题在于信息的“质”而非“量”。因此[C]项正确。[B]项与文意相反，不是“缺少”，而是“太多”。[D]项文中没有提及。
4. 举薯片的例子是用来说明_____。
[A] 计算机目前发展中的缺陷[B] 计算机芯片和薯片之间相似之处
[C] 网络上可获得丰富的信息[D] 计算机有时提供的是不相关的信息
[精解] 答案D本题考查写作目的。第四段中的相关内容指出，当我们在网上查询最快的计算机芯片时，计算机给我们的却是薯片的信息，可见计算机提供了不相关的信息，应选[D]项。 [A]项错在computer，应换成web。[B]项是举例中的细节，注意，计算机芯片和薯片在英语中是同一个单词chip。[C]项与作者意图相反，不是“丰富”，而是“泛滥”。
5. 这篇文章主要要表达的是_____。
[A] 网络正在成为一种新的信息传输方式[B] 网络将带来一种新的生活方式
[C] 电子商务随着网络的发展而发展 [D] 与网络的交流将变得更容易
[精解] 答案B本题考查文章主旨。[A]、 [C]和[D]项分别是第一段、第二段和第四段的主旨内容。但从全文来看，第一、二段主要介绍了网络给信息传输和商务带来的变化，第三段前半部分提到，通讯费用的降低及软件的改善可以使网络成为更多人的生活方式。该段后半部分则介绍了软件和硬件确实都在改善。因此，该段主要论述了网络成为生活方式的可能性。第四段论述了未来人与网络的交互也将得到改善，信息更准确，可以通过言语交流。第五段则总结到网络成为生活方式的的日子不会太遥远。因此[B]项是全文主旨。 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲 第5页Text 3 第6页Text 3 精讲
Text 2
For thousands of Canadians, bad service is neither make-believe nor amusing. It is an aggravating and worsening real-life phenomenon that encompasses behavior ranging from indifference and rudeness to naked hostility and even physical violence. Across the country, better business bureaus report a lengthening litany of complaints about contractors, car dealers, and repair shops, moving companies, airlines and department stores. There is almost an adversarial feeling between businesses and consumers.
Experts say there are several explanations for ill feeling in the marketplace. One is that customer service was an early and inevitable casualty when retailers responded to brutal competition by replacing employees with technology such as 1～800 numbers and voice mail. Another factor is that business generally has begun placing more emphasis on getting customers than on keeping them. Still another is that strident, frustrated and impatient shoppers vex shop owners and make them even less hospitable—especially at busier times of the year like Christmas. On both sides, simple courtesy has gone by the board. And for a multitude of consumers, service went with it.
The Better Business Bureau at Vancouver gets 250 complaints a week, twice as many as five years ago. The bureau then had one complaints counselor and now has four. People complain about being insulted, having their intelligence and integrity questioned, and being threatened. One will hear about people being hauled almost bodily out the door by somebody saying things like “I don’t have to serve you!”or “This is private property, get out and don’t come back! ” What can customers do? If the bureau’s arbitration process fails to settle a dispute, a customer’s only recourse is to sue in claims court. But because of the costs and time it takes, relatively few ever do.
There is a lot of support for the notion that service has, in part, fallen victim to generational change. Many young people regard retailing as just a bead-end job that you’re just going to do temporarily on your way to a real job. Young clerks often lack both knowledge and civility. Employers have to train young people in simple manners because that is not being done at home. Salespeople today, especially the younger ones, have grown up in a television-computer society where they’ve interacted largely with machines. One of the biggest complaints from businesses about graduates is the lack of inter-personal skills.
What customers really want is access. They want to get through when they call, they don’t want busy signals, they don’t want interactive systems telling them to push one for this and two for that—they don’t want voice mail. And if customers do not get what they want, they defect. Some people go back to local small businesses: the Asian greengrocer, a Greek baker and a Greek fishmonger. They don’t wear name tags, but one gets to know them, all by name.[490 words]
1At a business place of bad service, the worst one can get is._________
[A] indifference and rudeness [B] naked hostility and physical violence
[C] having intelligence and integrity questioned [D] being insulted and threatened
2One of the reasons for such ill feeling in the marketplace is that.________
[A] shoppers are usually strident, frustrated and impatient
[B] shoppers often take businesses to court
[C] businesses use new technology instead of employees
[D] businesses try every means to get customers
3 What changes have taken place at Vancouver Better Service Bureau in the past five years?
[A] More effective. [B] Less bureaucracy.
[C] More business. [D] Better staff.
4Young clerks often lack interpersonal skills chiefly because they____________
[A]are skilled in dealing with machines, not people
[B] are not trained in simple manners at home
[C] fall victims to generational change
[D] take retailing to be a temporary job
5The author’s attitude towards businesses and bad service is_________.
[A] attacking [B] understanding [C] regretting [D] warning 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲 第5页Text 3 第6页Text 3 精讲
试题精解
1.在一个有着劣质服务的商业场所人们所受到的最恶劣的待遇是——。
[A] 漠不关心和粗鲁 [B] 不加掩饰的恶意和身体暴力
[C] 智力和正直遭到质疑 [D] 受到侮辱和威胁
[精解] 答案B本题考查事实细节。第一段第二句提到，劣质服务是真实的生活现象，包括从漠不关心、粗俗无礼到不加掩饰的恶意甚至身体暴力等一系列行为。以上三种行为按照严重程度递增排列。第三段提到，人们在投诉信中抱怨受到侮辱、自己的智力和正直遭到质疑、受到威胁。接着文中举了一个例子形象地说明了顾客受到的最糟糕的待遇。句子结构one will hear... 表示作者强调的口吻，“连……的事情也有所耳闻”。而这个例子正好是“不加掩饰的恶意甚至身体暴力”。因此[B]项是最恶劣的待遇。
2.市场上出现这种不良情绪的原因之一是——。
[A] 购物者经常是吵闹的、失望的和没有耐心的
[B] 购物者经常把商家告上法庭
[C] 商家使用技术替代员工
[D] 商家利用各种手段来赢得顾客
[精解] 答案C本题考查事实细节。第二段分析了三个原因。第一个原因是：零售商应对残酷的竞争采用技术取代员工。第二个原因是：商家一般都开始把重点更多放在赢得顾客而不是保持顾客上。第三个原因是：一些吵闹的、失望的没有耐心的购买者经常惹恼店主。由此可判定[C]项是原因，[A]项将原文中的个别现象变成了经常出现的普遍现象，与事实不符。[B]项文中未提。文中强调的原因是商家没有重视保持顾客，[D]与文意不符。
3.在过去五年里渥太华的优化商务局有什么改变?
[A] 效率更高。 [B] 官僚作风减少。
[C] 更多的务业。 [D] 更好的职员。
[精解] 答案C 本题考查事实细节。第三段首句提到，渥太华的优化商务局在一周之内收到的投诉数量是五年前的两倍。该局的投诉顾问也由那时的一个变成了四个。投诉多了，业务自然更繁忙了，因此[C]项正确。其他项文中未提到。
4.年轻的职员缺乏人际间交往技巧主要是因为他们——。
[A] 擅长与机器而非人打交道 [B] 在家没有接受简单的礼仪训练
[C] 成为代与代之间变化的受害者[D] 将零售视为临时的工作
[精解] 答案A 本题考查事实细节。第四段首句提到一种普遍存在的观念，即服务成了代与代之间变化的受害者。接下来的内容对该句进行了阐述：年轻人将零售视为跳板性质的工作;缺少知识和礼貌;年轻人成长过程中大多和机器交流。该段最后一句作者借用商家的抱怨，指出他们缺少人际间的交际技能。可见，只有[A]项与年轻职员人际交流能力差相关，且是直接原因。其他项是年轻人其他方面的表现。
5.作者看待商业和劣质服务的态度是——。
[A] 攻击的 [B] 理解的 [C] 懊悔的 [D] 警告的
[精解] 答案D本题考查作者态度。文中作者主要描述了劣质服务的存在及分析其原因。在最后一段里，作者用与商业部门和服务行业对话的口吻说到，顾客真正想要的是一个接近的机会。如果顾客得不到他们想要的服务，他们就会跑掉。可见，作者是在警告并呼吁服务行业找出其问题根源所在以便改善服务。[D]项是其正确的态度。其他项都不恰当。 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲 第5页Text 3 第6页Text 3 精讲
Text 3
You slip the key into the ignition and crank the engine to life. But before you put the car into gear, you tap a key on the keyboard mounted by the steering wheel, and your newest email flashes up on the windscreen.
This seductive satyr is what you get when you cross a car and a computer. Dubbed the “network vehicle”, or net-mobile, it may soon come to a driveway near you (probably the one belonging to your rich neighbour). In a net-mobile, a motorist could tap into a regional road system but also to map out a route around rush-hour traffic snags. Drivers and passengers will be able to send and receive e-mail, track the latest sports scores or stock quotes, surf the Web, and even play video games. Or so, at least, say a number of computer-industry firms such as Microsoft, Sun, IBM and Netscape.
The modern car is already an electronic showcase on wheels. On-board microcomputers improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. They operate anti-lock brake systems, and on some cars even regulate the firmness of the shock absorbers. But much of the technology needed to add extra is available now. A prototype network vehicle, produced by a consortium of Netscape, Sun, IBM and Delco (an automotive electronics firm based in Michigan), was introduced at the recent annual computerindustry show in Las Vegas.
It not only offered such desktop-computer-like services as e-mail, but allowed a driver to use them without looking away from the road. It was operated by voice commands and projected its data on to the windscreen, using the same sort of head-up display system found in modern fighter jets. Members of the consortium think a real-world network vehicle could be in production in as little as four years.
Car-makers have already begun rolling out some of the features found on these prototype netmobiles. If the driver of a General Motors car equipped with its On-Star system locks his key in the car, for example, an emergency centre can transmit a digital signal to unlock the doors. On-star also calls automatically for help if an accident triggers the airbags. Toyota and General Motors are among a growing list of firms offering such in-car navigation systems. And in Europe, BMW and Mercedes-Benz recently introduced navigation hardware that can not only plot out a route, but alert a driver to traffic jams.[419 words]
1.The future car can be defined as the machine which________.
[A] sends and receives e-mails, and surfs the Web
[B] taps into a regional road system to get directions
[C] combines car functions and computer functions
[D] tracks the latest sports scores and stock quotes
2.“An electronic showcase on wheels”probably means__________.
[A] a computer industry show
[B] a network car
[C] a car that exhibits electronic achievements
[D] a computer that has wheels
3.Compared with an ordinary modern car, the network vehicle will have an on-board microcomputer which________.
[A] projects data on the windscreen
[B] improves fuel economy and reduces emissions
[C] operates anti_lock brake systems
[D] regulates the firmness of the shock absorbers
4.The in-car navigation system has all of the following functions EXCEPT________.
[A] calling for help if an accident triggers the airbag
[B] transmitting a digital signal to unlock the doors
[C] alerting emergency centre if the key is locked in the car
[D] plotting out route and alert one to traffic jams
5.The passage is written probably to_______.
[A] promote electronic culture
[B] advertise for the motor manufacturers
[C] attract potential motor consumers
[D] provide information about the net vehicle 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲 第5页Text 3 第6页Text 3 精讲
试题精解
1.未来的汽车可以定义为_____的机器。
[A] 可收发电子邮件并且在网上冲浪
[B] 可触摸进入地区公路系统来获得方向指示
[C] 结合了汽车和电脑功能的综合体
[D] 可追踪最新的体育比赛得分情况和股市报价
[精解] 答案C 本题考查事实细节。第一段对未来汽车进行了一番美好描述。二段首句指出这种机器就是汽车和电脑的交合体。satyr原义是“半人半兽的森林之神”，这里比喻为“半汽车半电脑的结合体”。第二句指出这种汽车享有“网络汽车”(network vehicle)的称号，因此[C]项为最佳答案。其他项都是未来汽车的部分功能，不具概括性。
2.“轮子上的电子陈列橱”可能指的是______。
[A] 电脑工业展示会 [B] 网络汽车
[C] 展示了电子成就的汽车 [D] 有轮子的电脑
[精解] 答案C本题考查根据上下文猜测词义。三段首句指出，现代汽车已经是一个带轮子的电子陈列橱。该段接着详细叙述了其具体功能。but一词后出现转折，开始谈网络汽车(即未来汽车)，它与现代汽车相比添加了额外的技术，其模型已经出现在拉斯维加斯的电脑工业展示会上了。因此“带轮子的电子陈列橱”就是具备电子功能的现代汽车，[C]项为正确答案。
3.与一般的现代汽车相比，网络汽车会在内部安置微电脑_____。
[A] 将数据投射到汽车挡风玻璃上 [B] 节约燃油量和减少排放量
[C] 操纵反锁刹车系统 [D] 调节减震器的松紧程度
[精解] 答案A本题考查事实细节。该题实际上是要求考生找出网络汽车和现代汽车的区别。根据三段可知，[B]、[C]和[D]项都是现代汽车的功能。只有[A]项是四段谈到的网络汽车先进于现代汽车的功能之一。
4.汽车内置的导航系统的功能不包括_____。
[A] 发生事故时启动安全气袋后自动求救
[B] 发射一种数字信号来开车门
[C] 钥匙被锁在车内时向紧急服务中心报警
[D] 规划路线并提醒驾驶者注意交通堵塞
[精解] 答案C本题考查事实细节。根据题干关键词navigation system迅速定位到第五段。该段倒数第二句提到：包括丰田和通用汽车公司在内越来越多的公司提供了这种内置导航系统。联系上下文，上文提到如果装备卫星导航系统(OnStar system)的通用汽车的驾驶者把车钥匙锁在车内了，那么紧急服务中心会发射一种数字信号来开车门。而且发生事故时如果安全气袋被启动，该系统还会自动求救。下文提到，欧洲的宝马和奔驰汽车公司最近引进了一种导航软件，它不仅能够规划路线而且可以提醒驾驶者注意交通堵塞。可见，[A]、[B]和[D]项都是文中列举的导航系统的功能。[C]错在不是“报警”而是“发射信号”。
5.这篇文章的写作目的可能是_____。
[A] 宣传电子文化 [B] 替汽车生产商做广告
[C] 吸引潜在的汽车消费者 [D] 提供有关网络汽车的信息
[精解] 答案D本题变相考查主旨。回顾全文，从介绍未来汽车(即网络汽车)，到将网络汽车和现代汽车作比列出前者的优越之处，文章主要以提供信息为主，勾画了未来汽车的美好前景。因此[D]正确。其他项的内容文中都未提及。
