四级考试练习题(1)(1)

Passage one
Electronic books could revolutionize reading, but people ought to consider their far-reaching impacts as well. “The e-book promises to wreak a slow havoc on life as we know it,” Jason Ohler, professor of technology assessment, university of Alaska Southeast In Juneau, warned the World Future Society, Bethesda, Md. His assessment weighed the pros and cons ( 赞成和反对的理由 ) of e-book technology’s impact on social relationships, the environment, the economy, etc. Before you curl up （蜷曲）with an e-book, consider the disadvantages.

They increase eyestrain due to poor screen resolution, replace a relatively cheap commodity with a more expensive one, and displace workers in print book production and traditional publishing. E-books make it easy to share data, thereby threatening copyright agreements and reducing compensation of authors, as well as creating nonbiodegradable（不可生物降解）trash.

On the other hand, e-books save paper and trees, reduce the burden of the carrying and storing of printed books, promote self-sufficiency in learning, and make reading a collaborative experience online. They also create new jobs for writers and artists and encourage self-publishing.

In final analysis, Ohler points out, e-books should gain society’s approval if a few conditions are met: make them biodegradable and recyclable, solve the problem of eye fatigue, be sure the “have-nots” get the technology, and support e-book training in schools and business.

词汇注释：

revolutionize革命化
far-reaching　意义深远的
wreak havoc浩劫；造成严重破坏
assessment　评估
resolution　分解
displace　移植；代替
compensation补偿
collaborative　合作性的
fatigue　疲劳
have-not　穷人

译文：

电子书籍可能会使阅读产生革命性的变革，但是我们也应该考虑其深远的影响。位于茱洛的阿拉斯加东南大学的技术评估教授詹森?奥诃乐警告位于贝德斯达的世界未来学会说：“电子书籍肯定会缓慢地破坏我们的生活。”他的评估权衡了人们对于电子书籍赞成和反对的理由，人们对于电子技术对社会关系、环境、经济等的影响向来莫衷一是。所以，在你对电子书籍一味追捧之前，你应该考虑它带来的不利因素。 电子书籍由于其差劲的屏幕分解，会给人眼造成疲劳；电子书籍将相对便宜的商品变成了更昂贵的商品；使从事印刷业和传统出版业的工人失业。电子书籍还使得信息的分享变得更容易，由此也威胁到版权协定和减少了对作者的补偿，并且产生了不可生物降解的垃圾。

而另一方面，电子书籍节约了纸和树，减少了携带和储藏印刷书籍的麻烦，并且使阅读成为一种合作性的网上体验。它也为作者和艺术家创造了新的工作，并且鼓励自己出版。总之，奥诃乐指出：“如果能满足几个要求，电子书籍应该能得到社会的认可。这几个条件即：可生物降解，可循环再利用，能解决视疲劳问题，能使不富有的人也用上这一技术，并且支持在学校和商业中的电子书籍培训。 1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?（作者的写作目的是什么？）

A. draw people’s attention to the disadvantages of e-books.（让人们注意到电子书籍的短处）
B. call on people to reject E-books （号召人们拒绝电子书籍）
C. criticize schools and business that don’t provide e-books（批评学校和商业部门不提供电子书籍）
D.encourage people to