题目列表(包括答案和解析)
Gadgets (小装置) can be wildly expensive and quickly out-of-date, but Steven Poole is still the
first to buy them. Technological innovations (创新) are often quite stupid. The idea that you might
want to walk down the street holding a mobile phone in front of your face, just to experience the
wonders of video calling, is clearly ridiculous. Luckily for the tech companies, however, there are
some people who jump at the chance to buy into new gadgets before they are fully ready and cheap
enough for the mass-market. They are called early adopters, and their fate is a terrible one. I should
know, since I am one myself.
Early adopters have a Mecca: it’s Tokyo’s Akihabara district, also known as “Electric City”.
There, in 1999, I bought a digital camera, a gizmo that few people in Britain had heard of. Over the
next few years I watched in great sadness as digital cameras became more popular, cheaper and more
powerful, until better models could be had for a quarter of the price I had paid. Did I feel stupid? What
I actually did was this: I splashed out more money last year for a new one, one that let me feel pleasantly
ahead of the curve once again. But I know that cannot last, and I’ll probably have to buy another in a
few years.
Thus early adopters are betting on other people eventually feeling the same desires. And it’s worse
if that future never arrives. Early adopters of the Betamax home-video format in the 1970s could only
look on in sadness when their investment was nullified（使无效）by the success of VHS. All sorts of
apparently splendid inventions, such as videogame consoles like the Atari Jaguar have been abandoned
to the dustbin of history right after a few early adopters bought in. Those who invested thousands in a
Segway motorized scooter on the wave of ridiculous advertising campaigns that accompanied its launch
a couple of years ago can join the club.
You might think we should just stop being so silly, save our money, and wait to see what really
catches on. But the logic of the industry is such that, if everyone did that, no innovation would become
popular. Imagine the third person to buy an ordinary telephone soon after Alexander Graham Bell had
invented it. Who was he going to call? Maybe he simply bought two phones, one for a special friend.
But still, the usefulness and eventual popularity of the device wasn’t clear at the time. Nobody dreamed
of the possibility of being able to speak to any one of millions of people. And yet if he, and the hundreds
and thousands of early adopters after him, had not bought into the idea, the vast communication networks
that we all take for granted today would never have been built.
The same goes, indeed, for all new technologies. Those guys holding bricks to their ears that we
laughed at in the 1980s made the current mobile phone possible. People who bought DVD players
when they still cost a fortune, instead of today’s cheap one at the local supermarket, made sure that
the new format succeeded. Early adopters’ desire for desires supported the future financially. And
what did they get for their pains? They got a hole in their bank accounts and inferior, unperfected
technology. But still, they got it first. And today they are still at work, buying overpriced digital radios,
DVD recorders and LCD televisions, and even 3G phones, so that you will be eventually be able to
buy better and less expensive ones.
So next time you see a gadget-festooned geek (满身新潮玩意的土包子) and feel tempted to
sneer (讥笑), think for a minute. Without early adopters, there would be no cheap mobile phones or
DVD players; there would be no telephone or television either. We are the tragic, unsung foot soldiers
of the technology revolution. We’re the desire-addicted pioneers, pure in heart, dreaming of a better
future. We make expensive mistakes so you don’t have to. Really, we are heroes.
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听力测试(满分30分)
第一节
听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。
M：This book costs ＄13.00, but I’ve only got ＄7.00．
W：I’ve got ＄8.00, so I’ll lend you the rest．
1．How much will the woman lend the man?
A．＄13.00．
B．＄7.00．
C．＄6.00．
W：Where was your brother yesterday afternoon?
M：He went to the cinema with my sister．
2．What did the man’s brother do yesterday afternoon?
A．He saw a film．
B．He went to work．
C．He saw his sister off．
W：I got a part-time job at the supermarket, Dad．
M：Great．Are you sure you can handle it? How many hours will you work?
W：Yes．Three hours a day weekdays and all day Saturday．
M：Well, I support you, but you should mind your study．
3．What might the girl be?
A．A new worker．
B．A student．
C．A salesgirl．
W：How much are these bags?
M：A red one is ＄1.5, a green one ＄2 and yellow ＄3．
W：Then I’ll take the cheapest one．
4．What kind of bag will the woman buy?
A．A green one．
B．A red one．
C．A yellow one．
M：What are you going to do this weekend?
W：Well, I had planned to visit my parents, but yesterday, one of my friends called from Beijing and said he would be coming to Guangzhou on Friday, so I will have to go shopping with him．
5．What will the woman do this weekend?
A．Visit her parents．
B．Show her friend around．
C．Go to Guangzhou with her friend．
第二节
听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。
听第6段材料，回答第6～8题。
M：Excuse me．Are you Miss Green from America?
W：Yes, I am．
M：Good!Glad to meet you．I am Henry from the People’s Hotel．I’ve been waiting for you．Miss Green, your room is ready．
W：That’s wonderful．
M：Let me carry these bags．
W：Oh, no．Please don’t trouble．I can manage all right．
M：Here is the car．Let’s get in．
W：OK!Thank you．This seems to be a beautiful city．I am sure I’ll enjoy my stay here．
M：I am sure you will．By the way, would you like me to show you around the city this afternoon?
W：Oh, that’s very kind of you．I’m looking forward to it．Thank you．
6．Where are the two speakers most probably?
A．Leave America．
B．In a hotel．
C．At the airport．
7．What can we learn from the conversation?
A．It’s the first time that Miss Green has come to this city．
B．Henry knows Miss Green very well．
C．Miss Green wants to travel around the city herself．
8．What is Miss Green most probably going to do in the afternoon?
A．Stay in the hotel．
B．Go back to America．
C．Walk around the city．
听第7段材料，回答第9～11题。
M：Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the swimming pool, please?
W：I can’t, I’m afraid．I’m a stranger here, you see．But why not ask that man over there? He’ll be able to tell you, I’m sure．
M：Which one do you mean?
W：Look, the one over there, on the other side of the road．
M：Ah, yes．I can see him now．Thank you so much．
9．What might the man intend to do?
A．Have fun．
B．Do shopping．
C．Visit a friend．
10．Why doesn’t the woman tell him the way?
A．She doesn’t like to talk to a stranger．
B．She doesn’t know the place well．
C．She doesn’t want to be disturbed．
11．What might the man on the other side of the street be like?
A．Full of information．
B．Ready to help others．
C．Native to the city．
听第8段材料，回答第12～13题。
W：Hello, Peter．I’m glad to see you．
M：Glad to see you, too．I come here to tell you a piece of good news．
W：What is it?I can’t wait．Come in, please．
M：Thank you．Oh, you have guests here．
W：They’re all my friends．Come in．Let me introduce you to them．
M：No, no．I’m not used to talking with strangers．I’ll come some other day．Bye．
W：Wait!What’s the good news?
M：Oh!You’ve won the first prize in public speech．
12．Why does the man come to the woman?
A．Tell her a piece of good news．
B．Ask her to make a speech．
C．Meet with some of her friends．
13．What do we learn about the man?
A．He likes to make friends at home．
B．He isn’t used to meeting people．
C．He hopes to be introduced to the guests．
听第9段材料，回答第14～16题。
W：Tom, would you tell me the time?
M：It’s 9∶30．
W：Our plane will take off in an hour．We’d better go to the airport．
M：Don’t worry．We have enough time．
W：Enough?I usually get in it two hours earlier．
M：But that’s too early．Have another drink, OK?
W：Then when will you get on board?
M：A few minutes before the plane takes off．
W：Would you like to sit by the window?
M：Yes, of course．We’ll be able to see the beautiful views since the weather is so fine．
W：Look, the sun is coming out．
M：Good．It should be a good trip．
W：Oh, Tom, let’s get to the airport now．
M：All right．I have to follow you．
14．What time will the plane take off?
A．11∶30．
B．10∶30．
C．9∶30．
15．Why does the man think that it should be a good trip?
A．Because he would sit by the window．
B．Because the plane was beautiful．
C．Because the weather is fine．
16．When does the man get on the plane?
A．Several minutes before it takes off．
B．Half an hour before it takes off．
C．Two hours before it takes off．
听第10段材料，回答第17～20题。
Dear Tommy,
Glad to have received your letter of May 1st．It’s an honor to be your pen friend．I’m 18 years old and I’m a first-year university student in Dublin．I live with ten other students in a big old house near the center of the city．I have a large room on the second floor in the front of the House．There isn’t a lift, but I don’t need one．I usually run up the stairs．My room is 7 meters long and 5 meters wide．At one end I’ve got some cooking tools and fridges, so I can cook my own meals．At the other end I’ve got my bed and a cupboard for clothes．There’s a bathroom and a toilet down the hall, for all the students on my floor．I’ve got a big desk in my room, too．So I study, eat and sleep in the same room．My parents live in a village near Cork and I go there on the holidays．Please write and tell me about your home．
17．What do you think the speaker is?
A．A college student．
B．A university teacher．
C．A middle school student．
18．How many students are there in the speaker’s house?
A．Nine．
B．Ten．
C．Eleven．
19．What size is the speaker’s room?
A．Thirty-five square metres．
B．Twenty-five square metres．
C．Fifty square metres．
20．Where does the speaker have his meals?
A．At school．
B．In his room．
C．In the restaurant．
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