WhenGutenbergprintedhisfirstbookshehadnointentionthattheyshouldbeportable.Theyweremade,afterall,tocompetewithveryweighty(andoftenchained)illuminatedmanuscripts.Theideathatyoucouldwalkaroundwithabookdidnotcomeuntill500whenAldusManutiusstumbleduponthisrevolutionaryandliberatingnotion.Thefirstpaperlightnewspaper(JohannCarolus’sTheRelationinStrasbourg)didnotfollowuntill609.Inthecomputerworldthesamerevolutionfromheavymainframetonearweightlessnessiswellunderway.
Today’sportablesseemmiraclesofdesignandpower.But,evenasfarastheyhavecome,comparethemwiththeultralight,ultracheap,ultrahighqualityinformationbearingattributesofpaper,theonlyproblemisthattheinformationonpapercannotbeupdated.Imagineapieceofelectronicpaperwhichcouldtypesetitselfbymeansofremotelyfeddata.ThekeyelementsofsuchanentityarealreadyarealityattheMassachusettsInstltuteofTechnology’s(MIT)MediaLaboratory,enablingtheprospectofportableinformationdeviceswhichareessentiallyweightlessandomnipresent.Thekeybreakthrough,whichwillstarttobeseenwidelyinl998,isanewtypeofink:electronicink.Thismagicalstuffcanbecoatedontoanysurface,but,unlikenormalink,itcanbeelectronicallyset.Itisinstantlychangeable,erasableandresettable.Theinkitself,apolymermaterial,isnotexpensiveandrequiresnoelectronicpowertomaintainitsimage.Thisspellsthebeginningoftheendofthepublishedbook.Theconventionalpublishingindustryisalreadydying.Books,magazinesandnewspapershavereachedaplateauofsalesinAmericaofabout$100billionayear.Salesoffiatpaneldisplays,thebasisofallnotebookcomputersandthesuperthinscreenswhicharebeginningtopopulateourdesktops,aregrowingrapidlywithsalesapproaching$30billion,butsuchscreensarestillheavy,veryexpensiveandpowerhungry.Electronicinkenablesthetwoworlds,conventionalpublishingonpaperandelectronicinformationdisplays,tobemerged.
Thisradicalchangecoincideshappilywithanother:theexponentialgrowthofourabilitytostoreinformationelectronicallyatarapidlydwindlingcost.Thearrival,thatis,ofcompactdatastorage.Considerthis.Onebookconsumesabout1Mbofdatainaconventional,uncompressedform.Butsqueezethedataintoacompactform,andadiskdrivethesizeofacreditcardholds350books.
1.Whoisthefirstpersonnotedthatbookscouldbeprotable?
_______________________________
_______________________________.
2.Electronicpapercansolvetheproblemthat____________________________________
________________________.
3.“Prospectofportableinformationdevices”refersto__________________
__________________________________________.
4.Whatresultsintheendingofthepublishedbook?
______________________________
______________________________.
5.Accordingtothe3rdPara,itisinferredthatthecoventionalpublish
industrywilldisappear____________________________________________________________.
文章以便携式书籍的出现为引子,指出在电脑领域,也正进行着一场从沉重的主机计算机
到几乎无重量的便携式电脑的革命。文章告诉我们,电子纸的出现,尤其是随着电子进入
应用的实际问题:电子墨水得以突破后,使传统出版业遭到危机,最终会带来出版业的变革,传统的出版物与电子信息显示合为一体。
1.【参考答案】AldusManutius
【详细解答】本文问的是谁最早提出书可以便携这一观念。文中第一段第三句话:Theideathatyoucouldwalkaroundwithabooknotcomeuntil1500whenAldusManutiusstumbled…notion,句中,thisrevolutionary―andliberating―noti
on,指的即是“theyshouldbeprotable”因而,AldusManutius是最早提出这一观点的人。
2.【参考答案】theinformationonpapercannotbeupdated
【详细解答】文中第二段出现了:Imagineapieceofelectronicpaperwhichcould
typesetitselfofromotelyfeddata:电子纸可通过遥控数据排版。而在这句话的前面
,是有关纸的评价:theonlyproblemisthattheinformationonpapercannotbeu
pdated.这样一比,电子纸与普通纸的区别就很明显了,而电子纸的功能恰恰是普通纸所做
3.【参考答案】electronicpaper
【解题技巧】通过上下文,找出指代的内容是本题的关键。
【详细解答】本题问的是:便携式信息装置指代什么。对于这样的问题,一定要联系上
下文,在第二段中,只要能发现apieceofelectronicpaper,suchanentity与protableimformationdevices的逻辑关系,便不难发现,这段话想说明的正是:由于麻省理工学
院的多媒体实验室将电子纸的实践问题得以解决,才使用电子纸的前景乐观,因此,答案为
4.【参考答案】thebreakthroughofelectronicink
【解题技巧】通过段与段之间承上启下的关键问题找出答案。
【详细解答】第三段的首句:Thisspellsthebeginningoftheendofthepublishedbook.本题的问话其实就是这句话的变形。由于这句话处于承上启下的位置,那么“this”所指,必然在上面一段出现。第二段中指出:Thekeybreakthrough,…isanewtypeofink.这就说明,在电子纸实践将随着电子墨水的突破而有所发展,之后,又用了相当的篇幅介绍电子墨水的特性。因此,是电子墨水的突破使电子纸获得实质的进展,而这将导致书籍出版的结束。回答本题时,仍要尽可能运用文中原有的词汇。
5.【参考答案】conventionalpublishingonpaperandelectronicinformation
displaysaremerged
【详细解答】这是一个典型的推理型的问题。这种问题往往涉及几句话甚至整段话的内
容。第三段一开始指出:传统出版业正在走向灭亡,虽然平板显示器的销售突飞猛进,然而
,它的本身也存在着明显的缺限。而电子墨水的出现,可以使这两件各有所长的东西构成合
理的结合成为可能。根据这段话,我们可得知:传统出版物若消失,必然在两者结合之时。
回答这个问题时,也应尽量使用句子的原话:conventionalpublishingonpaperandelectronicinformationdisplays,tobemerged.而稍作变形。