考研英语阅读理解精读100篇【信息技术类】

考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit36
Unit 36
"The creation of the PC is the best thing that ever happened," said Bill Gates at a conference on "digital dividends" in 2000. He even wondered if it might be possible to make computers for the poor in countries without an electric power grid. The answer is yes, and things are going even further. Villagers in a remote region of Laos that has neither electricity nor telephone connections are being wired up to the Internet.
 
Lee Thorn, the head of the Jhai Foundation, an American-Lao organisation, has been working for nearly five years in the Hin Heup district. The foundation has helped villagers build schools, install wells and organise a weaving co-operative. But those villagers told Mr Thorn that what they needed most was access to the Internet. To have any hope of meeting that need, in an environment which is both physically harsh and far removed from technical support, Mr Thorn realised that a robust computer was the first requirement.
 
He therefore turned to engineers working with the Jhai Foundation, who devised a machine that has no moving, and few delicate, parts. Instead of a hard disk, the Jhai PC relies on flash-memory chips to store its data. Its screen is a liquid-crystal display, rather than an energy-guzzling glass cathode-ray tube--an exception to the rule that the components used are old-fashioned, and therefore cheap. (No Pentiums, for example, just a 486-type processor.) Mr Thorn estimates that, built in quantity, each Jhai PC would cost around $400. Furthermore, because of its simplicity, a Jhai PC can be powered by a car battery charged with bicycle cranks--thus removing the need for a connection to the grid.
 
Wireless Internet cards connect each Jhai PC to a solar-powered hilltop relay station which then passes the signals on to a computer in town that is connected to both the Lao phone system (for local calls) and to the Internet. Meanwhile, the Linux-based software that will run the computers is in the final stages of being "localised" into Lao by a group of expatriates in America.
 
One thing that the new network will allow villagers to do is decide whether it is worth going to market. Phon Hong, the local market town, is 30km away, so it is worth knowing the price of rice before you set off to sell some there. Links farther afield may allow decisions about growing crops for foreign markets to be taken more sensibly--and help with bargaining when these are sold. And there is also the pleasure of using Internet telephony to talk to relatives who have gone to the capital, Vientiane, or even abroad.
 
If it works, the Jhai PC and its associated network could be a widespread success. So far, the foundation has had expressions of interest from groups working in Peru, Chile and South Africa. The prototype should be operational in Laos this December and it, or something very much like it, may soon be bridging the digital divide elsewhere as well.
 
注（1）：本文选自Economist；9/28/2002, p76, 2/3p, 1c；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2003年真题text 2第1题（1），2002年真题text 4地1、2题（2，4），text 3第4题（5），1998年真题text 2第4题（3）；
 
1.       The author begins his article with Bill Gate’s words to________.
 
[A] show the great prospect of the PC in improving people’s life
[B] catch people’s attention to the importance of the PC
[C] reveal a project that creates miracle
[D] prove the PC can do things even beyond imagination
 
2.       From the second paragraph, we learn that_____________.
 
[A] villagers are isolated from the outside world
[B] Lee’s work is to improve the life of people living in the countryside
[C] the harsh environment keeps Lee from doing better job
[D] engineers have moved to far-away towns due to the poverty of the villages
 
3.       Which of the following is NOT a feature of Jhai PC?
 
[A] delicateness
[B] practicality
[C] simplicity
[D] low cost
 
4.       Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
 
[A] The Jhai PC has no expensive parts. 
[B] The Jhai PC is powered by solar energy.
[C] The project has gained support from non-resident Laotians.  
[D] The software that runs the Jhai PC is a local product.
 
5.       We can draw a conclusion from the text that___________.
 
[A] Mr. Thorn’s project may produce a far-reaching influence
[B] the Jhai PC is revolutionizing the PC industry
[C] South Africa is as poor as Laos
[D] digital divide is something caused by pc and network
 
答案：ABACA
 
篇章剖析
本篇文章是一篇说明文，介绍了一个让老挝偏远地区的村民可以不借助电网而使用互联网的项目。第一段引用比尔•盖茨的话引出了个人电脑创造的另一个奇迹：在老挝的一个既不通电也不通电话的偏僻地区，村民们现在可以登陆互联网了。第二段介绍了这个项目的起因。第三段介绍了这个项目所使用的电脑的情况。第四段介绍了这种电脑如何得以无线上网。第五段介绍了这个新网络可能给村民带来得好处。最后一段对这一项目目前的发展状况及其影响进行了简单介绍。
 
词汇注释
dividend[] n. 股息, 红利, 额外津贴
grid[] n. 高压输电网
Laos[] n. 老挝（东南亚国家）
co-operative  n. 合作社
robust[] adj. 坚固的, 耐用的
flash-memory  n. 闪存
chip[] n. 芯片
liquid-crystal display  n. 液晶显示器
guzzle[] v. 大量消耗
cathode-ray tube  n. 阴极射线管
processor[] n. 处理器
crank[] n. 曲柄
localize[] v. 使)局部化,(使)地方化
expatriate[] n. 移居国外的人
far afield  远方, 远处
telephony[] n. 电话
Vientiane[] n. 万象[老挝首都]
prototype[] n. 原型；模型
 
难句突破
1. Its screen is a liquid-crystal display, rather than an energy-guzzling glass cathode-ray tube--an exception to the rule that the components used are old-fashioned, and therefore cheap.
主体句式：Its screen is a liquid-crystal display
结构分析：“rather than”这个连词引导了一个比较状语，意为“胜于”，在两个进行比较时，否定其后者，肯定其前者，此外这一句中还含有一个带有同位语从句的插入语。
句子译文：它的屏幕是一个液晶显示器，而不是耗电的玻璃纯屏显示器---这打破了使用过时廉价组件的原则。
2. Wireless Internet cards connect each Jhai PC to a solar-powered hilltop relay station which then passes the signals on to a computer in town that is connected to both the Lao phone system (for local calls) and to the Internet.
主体句式：Wireless Internet cards connect each Jhai Pc to a relay station
结构分析：本句是一个复杂句，包含两个定语从句，一个由which引导的修饰relay station，另外一个由that引导修饰computer。
句子译文：无线网卡将每一台Jhai的电脑和一个山顶的太阳能中转站连接在一起，通过这个中转站，信号被传送到镇上的一台连接老挝电话系统（用于本地电话）和互联网的电脑。
 
题目分析
1. 答案为A，属推理判断题。本文介绍了一个使老挝偏僻地区的村民可以不借助电话网和电网登录国际互联网的项目。文中对该项目的缘起，项目实施的过程以及该项目能给村民带来的好处进行了全面的介绍。以盖茨对个人电脑的溢美之词来开始，是为了让人们认识到电脑在改善人们生活方面的巨大前景。
2. 答案为B，属事实细节题。根据文章第二段，Lee在该地区工作五年来为该地区作了很多工作，比如建学校，打井，组织合作社等。这些工作无疑是为了改善人们的生活。
3. 答案为A，属事实细节题。从文章第二段最后一句话“Mr. Thorn realized that a robust computer was the first requirement”可以看出该项目需要的是一种非常“robust”的电脑。robust的本意是“结实的，强健的”，在此转义为“耐用的，不易坏的”。文章第三段提到这种电脑时说它内部可移动的，“delicate”的部件很少。“delicate”的意思除了“精致的”以外，还有“脆弱的”意思，可见这台电脑是属于结实耐用不易坏的那种。
4. 答案为C，属事实细节题。文章第四段最后一行提到，该项目电脑的运行软件正在由一些移居美国的老挝人进行本地化的工作。可见这一项目得到了非常住居民的支持。
5. 答案为A，属推理判断题。文章最后一段第一句话就说，这一项目也许会取得巨大成功。继而讲到了其他发展中国家也表现出对这一项目的兴趣。最后一句说，这一项目及其类似项目可以填平各地的数字鸿沟。可见，这一项目也许会产生深远的影响。
 
参考译文
“个人电脑是有史以来最好的发明创造，”比尔•盖茨在2000年的一个“数字化附加利益”会议上如此说道。他甚至想知道有没有可能为那些不通电的国家的穷人制造计算机。答案是肯定的，而且甚至还不仅于此。在老挝的一个既不通电也不通电话的偏僻地区，村民们现在可以登陆互联网了。
 
桑李是一个美国-老挝组织“Jhai基金会”的负责人，他在Hin Heup地区已经工作了将近五年。该基金会帮助村民们兴建了学校，打了井，还组织了一个编织合作社。但那些村民告诉桑先生他们最需要的是上网。为了在这样一个条件恶劣，远离技术支持的环境里找到一点满足这种需求的希望，桑先生意识到一台好用的电脑是当务之急。
 
因此他向“Jhai基金会”的技术人员求助，由他们发明了一台没有活动部件，也没有多少精致部件的电脑。Jhai电脑没有硬盘，而是依靠闪存芯片存储资料。它的屏幕是一个液晶显示器，而不是耗电的玻璃纯屏显示器---这打破了使用过时廉价组件（比如，处理器不是奔腾系列，而只是486类型）的原则。桑先生估计如果大量生产的话，每台Jhai电脑的成本大概是400美元左右。此外，由于设计简单，Jhai电脑还可以用借助自行车曲柄充电的汽车电池来提供电源---这样就不必连接电网了。
 
无线网卡将每一台Jhai的电脑和一个山顶的太阳能中转站连接在一起，通过这个中转站，信号被传送到镇上的一台连接老挝电话系统（用于本地电话）和互联网的电脑。与此同时，基于Linux系统的电脑运行软件也正处于用老挝语“本地化”的最后阶段，从事这一项工作的是一群移居美国的老挝人。
 
村民们用这个新网络可做的一件事情就是决定要不要走向市场。Phon Hong是当地的集镇，距离村子有30公里，因此到集镇上去卖大米之前了解一下米价还是有用的。如果能和更远的地方相连，那么人们就可以更加理智地对待为国外市场种植庄稼的决定---而且这种联通还有助于在销售的时候讨价还价。此外，人们还可以享受到使用网络电话和在首都万象甚至国外的亲人通话的快乐。
 
如果这种电脑能用的话，Jhai电脑及其相关网络将取得巨大的成功。目前，秘鲁，智利和南非的一些团体已经向基金会表示了他们的兴趣。今年12月，第一台这种电脑即将在老挝投入使用，它和与之类似的电脑将很快把其它地方的数字鸿沟也填平。

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