Compact Disks 

1　If someone says to you your music CDs don"t really hold any music on them, and they only have numbers recorded on them, you may not believe it. In fact, he is right in that sound is actually recorded onto the CDs as special numbers — a digital code.¹ The code is pressed onto the CD as bumps on a long spiral track almost five kilometers long. These bumps are an average of 0.5 microns wide. 

2　A small laser beam shines onto the bumps as the CD turns. The light is reflected back to a receiver that records how the laser light bounces back. This lets the CD player² turn the reflected light back into the original code. This means you can hear the original code as music.

3　Digital codes are used with many technologies. E-mail needs these kinds of code numbers. Space probes communicate with their ground station on earth using digital codes. Bar codes are read as digital codes in computer systems. Digital communications with cell phones need digital codes. Weather radios also tune into specific signals using these codes.

4　There are many types of compact disks. One format is called CD-RWs. They can be recorded on and re-recorded on（rewritten on）as you would do with a floppy disk³. Another format is the CD-ROM. The technology for recording on these disks is different from other CDs. These CDs have a dye layer that the CD writer can darken or leave clear. The clear and dark spots are the digital code. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc — Read Only Memory⁴. This disk is like a "super" floppy disk that can hold lots of information. One CD-ROM can hold the same amount of data as 500 floppy disks. Information is permanently recorded onto it. Computer games and other programs are considered to be CD-ROMs.

5　CDs were first sold to the public in 1982　These CDs still play well and sound fine. Current CDs are expected to last between 70 to 200 years. Of course, you can make sure your CDs last a long time by taking care of them.

6　Science keeps on developing. It may not be many more years before a completely new technology is invented⁵ and introduced to the public for music recording. In the meantime, there is no doubt you will continue to enjoy listening to your favorite music on CDs⁶ and playing your favorite computer games on CD-ROMs.

 

词汇： 

bump / bʌmp/ n．隆块，隆起

spiral / ’spaɪərəl / adj．螺旋形的

probe / prəʊb/n．探测器

floppy / ’flɒpɪ/ adj．松软的

floppy disk软（磁）盘

format / ’fɔ:mæt/ n．格式

dye / daɪ/ n．染色

permanently / ’pɜ:mənəntlɪ / adv．永久地

 

注释：

1．... he is right in that sound is actually recorded onto the CDs as special numbers – a digital code：他说的对，因为实际上声音以特殊的数字形式，即数码，刻录在CD碟片上。in that是“因为”，如：Water is essential in that without it all living things would die.水是基本要素，因为没有水，所有生物都要死亡。

2．CD player：CD播放机

3．as you would do with a floppy disk：就像你使用软磁盘一样

4．CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc – Read Only Memory：CD-ROM是Compact Disc – Read Only Memory这五个词首字母组成的缩写词。

5．It may not be many more years before a completely new technology is invented：过不了几年，说不定又会发明一种全新的技术。many more years是“再过许多年”。

6．“there is no doubt you will continue to enjoy listening to your favorite music on CDs”语法上可以理解为“there is no doubt（about the fact that）you will continue to enjoy listening to your favorite music on CDs”。A　shine on bumps

B　take many more years

C　be the key parts

D　restore the original code

E　be written on and rewritten on

F　keen contact with their ground station efficiently

Space probes could not ________ without using digital codes.

A:A B:B C:C D:D E:E F:F

Text 1
There’s one thing above all wrong with the new British postal codes: not everyone has that sort of memory. Some of us, of course, forget even h6use numbers and the present postal districts, but that matters less when there is a human being at every stage to spot the mistake. When all the sorting is done in one operation by a man sitting at a machine, typing special marks onto an envelope, one slip on your part could send your letter way outside the area where the local postman or a friendly neighbor knows your name.
Otherwise the new codes are all the Post Offices claims. They are the most carefully designed in the world, ideal for computers. A confusion of letters and numbers, they have two parts,separated
by the gap in the middle. Together they classify a letter not only the city where it is going but right down to the round of the particular postman who is to carry it, and even to a group of houses or a single big building. In the long run this will speed the mail and cut costs.
The long run is 10 years away, though. In fact there are only 12 Post Offices in the country which have the right machines fully working, and the system cannot work at full efficiency until it is nationwide. Yet the Post Office wants us to start using the codes now, so that we shall be trained when the machines are ready.
But will we A businessman I met, praising the virtues of the new system, explained that large companies like his could have codes of their own. What was his code “Oh, dear me. Now you’ve got me. Awfully sorry. Hold on a minute while I find a sheet of my headed notepaper.”Then he read painfully, as if spelling out a word in a foreign language, "W-I-X-6A-B".

According to the passage, what matters most in letter delivery in Britain is that（）

A:the new postal codes must be memorized B:house numbers must not be forgotten C:present postal districts must be borne in mind D:special marks on an envelope must be accurate

Every culture attempts to create a “universe of discourse” for its members, a way in which people can interpret their experience and convey it to one another. Without a common system of codifying sensations, life would be absurd and all efforts to share meanings doomed to failure. This universe of discourse — one of the most precious of all cultural legacies — is transmitted to each generation in part consciously and in part unconsciously. Parents and teachers give explicit instruction in it by praising or criticizing certain ways of dressing, of thinking, of gesturing, of responding to the acts of others. But the most significant aspects of any cultural code may be conveyed implicitly, not by rule or lesson but through modeling behavior. A child is surrounded by others who, through the mere consistency of their actions as males and females, mothers and fathers, salesclerks and policemen, display what is appropriate behavior. Thus the grammar of any culture is sent and received largely unconsciously, making one’s own cultural assumptions and biases difficult to recognize. They seem so obviously right that they require no explanation.
In The Open and Closed Mind, Milton Rokeach poses the problem of cultural understanding in its simplest form, but one that can readily demonstrate the complication of communication between cultures. It is called the “Denny Doodlebug Problem”. Readers are given all the rules that govern this culture: Denny is an animal that always faces North, and can move only by jumping; he can jump large distances or small distances, but can change direction only after jumping four times in any direction; he can jump North, South, East or West, but not diagonally. Upon concluding a jump his master places some food three feet directly west of him. Surveying the situation, Denny concludes he must jump four times to reach the food. No more or less. And he is right. All the reader has to do is to explain the circumstances that make his conclusion correct.
The large majority of people who attempt this problem fail to solve it, despite the fact that they are given all the rules that control behavior in this culture. If there is difficulty in getting inside the simplistic world of Denny Doodlebug — where the cultural code has already been broken and handed to us — imagine the complexity of comprehending behavior in societies whose codes have not yet been deciphered, and where even those who obey these codes are only vaguely aware and can rarely describe the underlying sources of their own actions.
Which one of the following statements about cultural code is discussed in The Open and Closed Mind

A:People in the same society may be governed by different cultural codes. B:Cultural codes are passed on from one generation to another either in written form or in oral form. C:Cultural codes in different cultures may differ sharply from one another. D:The influence of cultural codes on an individual may decrease as he becomes older.

Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points) Text 1 There’s one thing above all wrong with the new British postal codes: not everyone has that sort of memory. Some of us, of course, forget even h6use numbers and the present postal districts, but that matters less when there is a human being at every stage to spot the mistake. When all the sorting is done in one operation by a man sitting at a machine, typing special marks onto an envelope, one slip on your part could send your letter way outside the area where the local postman or a friendly neighbor knows your name. Otherwise the new codes are all the Post Offices claims. They are the most carefully designed in the world, ideal for computers. A confusion of letters and numbers, they have two parts,separated by the gap in the middle. Together they classify a letter not only the city where it is going but right down to the round of the particular postman who is to carry it, and even to a group of houses or a single big building. In the long run this will speed the mail and cut costs. The long run is 10 years away, though. In fact there are only 12 Post Offices in the country which have the right machines fully working, and the system cannot work at full efficiency until it is nationwide. Yet the Post Office wants us to start using the codes now, so that we shall be trained when the machines are ready. But will we A businessman I met, praising the virtues of the new system, explained that large companies like his could have codes of their own. What was his code “Oh, dear me. Now you’ve got me. Awfully sorry. Hold on a minute while I find a sheet of my headed notepaper.”Then he read painfully, as if spelling out a word in a foreign language, "W-I-X-6A-B".

According to the passage, what matters most in letter delivery in Britain is that（）

A:the new postal codes must be memorized B:house numbers must not be forgotten C:present postal districts must be borne in mind D:special marks on an envelope must be accurate

Text 4

Which one of the following statements about cultural code is discussed in The Open and Closed Mind

A:People in the same society may be governed by different cultural codes. B:Cultural codes are passed on from one generation to another either in written form or in oral form. C:Cultural codes in different cultures may differ sharply from one another. D:The influence of cultural codes on an individual may decrease as he becomes older.

第三篇 Compact Disks If someone says to you your music CDs don’t really hold any music on them, and they only have numbers recorded on them, you may not believe it. In fact, he is right in that sound is actually recorded onto the CDs as special numbers — a digital code. The code is pressed onto the CD as bumps(隆起) on a long spiral track almost five kilometers long. These bumps are an average of 0.5 microns(微米) wide. A small laser beam shines onto the bumps as the CD turns. The light is reflected back to a receiver that records how the laser light bounces back. This lets the CD player turn the reflected light back into the original code. This means you can hear the original code as music. Digital codes are used with many technologies. E-mail needs these kinds of code numbers. Space probes(探测仪) communicate with their ground station on earth using digital codes. Bar codes are read as digital codes in computer systems. Digital communications with cell phones need digital codes. Weather radios also tune into specific signals using these codes. There are many types of compact disks. One format is called CD-RWs. They can be recorded on and re-recorded on(rewritten on)as you would do with a floppy disk. Another format is the CD-ROM. The technology for recording on these disks is different from other CDs. These CDs have a dye layer that the CD writer can darken or leave clear. The clear and dark spots are the digital code. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc — Read Only Memory. This disk is like a "super" floppy disk that can hold lots of information. One CD-ROM can hold the same amount of data as 500 floppy disks. Information is permanently recorded onto it. Computer games and other programs are considered to be CD-ROMs. CDs were first sold to the public in 1982　These CDs still play well and sound fine. Current CDs are expected to last between 70 to 200 years. Of course, you can make sure your CDs last a long time by taking care of them. Science keeps on developing. It may not be many more years before a completely new technology is invented and introduced to the public for music recording. In the meantime, there is no doubt you will continue to enjoy listening to your favorite music on CDs and playing your favorite computer games on CD-ROMs. Music is recorded onto CDs as

A:laser beams B:digital codes C:musical notes D:special sounds

第三篇 Compact Disks If someone says to you your music CDs don’t really hold any music on them, and they only have numbers recorded on them, you may not believe it. In fact, he is right in that sound is actually recorded onto the CDs as special numbers — a digital code. The code is pressed onto the CD as bumps(隆起) on a long spiral track almost five kilometers long. These bumps are an average of 0.5 microns(微米) wide. A small laser beam shines onto the bumps as the CD turns. The light is reflected back to a receiver that records how the laser light bounces back. This lets the CD player turn the reflected light back into the original code. This means you can hear the original code as music. Digital codes are used with many technologies. E-mail needs these kinds of code numbers. Space probes(探测仪) communicate with their ground station on earth using digital codes. Bar codes are read as digital codes in computer systems. Digital communications with cell phones need digital codes. Weather radios also tune into specific signals using these codes. There are many types of compact disks. One format is called CD-RWs. They can be recorded on and re-recorded on(rewritten on)as you would do with a floppy disk. Another format is the CD-ROM. The technology for recording on these disks is different from other CDs. These CDs have a dye layer that the CD writer can darken or leave clear. The clear and dark spots are the digital code. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc — Read Only Memory. This disk is like a "super" floppy disk that can hold lots of information. One CD-ROM can hold the same amount of data as 500 floppy disks. Information is permanently recorded onto it. Computer games and other programs are considered to be CD-ROMs. CDs were first sold to the public in 1982　These CDs still play well and sound fine. Current CDs are expected to last between 70 to 200 years. Of course, you can make sure your CDs last a long time by taking care of them. Science keeps on developing. It may not be many more years before a completely new technology is invented and introduced to the public for music recording. In the meantime, there is no doubt you will continue to enjoy listening to your favorite music on CDs and playing your favorite computer games on CD-ROMs. E-mail is mentioned in the third paragraph to show

A:the variety of digital communications B:the development of new technologies C:the usefulness of digital codes D:the relationship between communication and technology

Every culture attempts to create a "universe of discourse" for its members, a way in which people can interpret their experience and convey it to one another. Without a common system of codifying sensations, life would be absurd and all efforts to share meanings doomed to failure. This universe of discourse—one of the most precious of all cultural legacies—is transmitted to each generation in part consciously and in part unconsciously. Parents and teachers give explicit instruction in it by praising or criticizing certain ways of dressing, of thinking, of gesturing, of responding to the acts of others. But the most significant aspects of any cultural code may be conveyed implicitly, not by rule or lesson but through modeling behavior. The child is surrounded by others who, through the mere consistency of their actions as males and females, mothers and fathers, salesclerks and policemen, display what is appropriate behavior. Thus the grammar of any culture is sent and received largely unconsciously, making one’s own cultural assumptions and biases difficult to recognize. They seem so obviously right that they require no explanation.
In The Open and Closed Mind, Milton Rokeach poses the problem of cultural understanding in its simplest form, but one that can readily demonstrate the complication of communication between cultures. It is called the "Denny Doodlebug Problem". Readers are given all the rules that govern this culture: Denny is an animal that always faces North, and can move only by jumping; he can jump large distances or small distances, but can change direction only after jumping four times I any direction; he can jump North, South, East or West, but not diagonally. Upon concluding a jump his master places some food three feet directly West of him. Surveying the situation, Denny concludes he must jump four times to reach the food. No more or less. And he is right. All the reader has to do is to explain the circumstances that make his conclusion correct.
The large majority of people who attempt this problem fail to solve it, despite the fact that they are given all the rules that control behavior in this culture. If there is difficulty in getting inside the simplistic world of Denny Doodlebug—where the cultural code has already been broken and handed to us—imagine the complexity of comprehending behavior in societies whose codes have to yet been deciphered. And where even those who obey these codes are only vaguely aware and can rarely describe the underlying sources of their own actions.
Which one of the following statements about cultural code is TRUE ______

A:People in the same society may be governed by different cultural codes. B:Cultural codes are passed on from one generation to another either in written form or in oral form or in both. C:Cultural codes in different cultures may differ sharply from one another. D:The influence of cultural codes on an individual may decrease as he becomes older.