【题目】A ground-based system that uses much stronger signals than GPS can find your location in cities and indoors. It is a new positioning system that could compete with GPS to make sure you never lose your directions again.

Instead of satellites, Locata uses ground-based equipment to launch a radio signal over a localized area that is a million times stronger on arrival than GPS. It can work indoors as well as outdoors, and the makers claim the receivers can be shrunk to fit inside a regular cell phone. Even the US military, which invented GPS technology, signed a contract last month agreeing to a large-scale test of Locata at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

This is one of the most important technology developments for the future of the positioning industry, says Nunzio Gambale, CEO and co-founder of the firm Locata, based in Griffith, Australia.

As for the Locatas accuracy, Christopher Morin of the US Air Force tested it recently at White Sands, and it worked to within 18 centimeters along any axis(轴). Morin says it should be possible to get the resolution down to 5 centimeters.

Admittedly, the tests were performed in an open desert where GPS also works beautifully, but its signals are weak like a car headlight from 20,000 kilometers away and easily blocked by solid objects. Locatas signal is far stronger, though not guaranteed to work in a complex urban environment, says David Last, consultant to the UKs General Lighthouse Authorities.

Locatas technology will face competition in the race to transform indoor navigation. But it could shine in specific areas,” Gambale says. Robots with Locata could easily navigate inside buildings without the complex optical systems they need at the moment. And process that handle precise location data could not only guide you around a mall, railway station or airport, but also take you to the exact shelf in a shop for the product you want. The units small and cheap enough for smart phones should be available within five years a similar path to the one GPS took on its way towards world domination.

1The passage is written mainly to .

A. encourage people to buy the Locata

B. tell us the disadvantage of the GPS

C. introduce a new positioning system Locata

D. tell us that Locata will replace GPS one day

2Which of the following is not true about Locata according to Paragraph 2?

A. Without the help of the satellites, Locata can tell you where you are.

B. The US military has to test it before using it.

C. Locata has a better signal than GPS.

D. Locata can be fixed into smart phones only.

3Which of the following words can be used to replace the underlined word in Paragraph 4?

A. accuracy B. speed

C. determination D. length

4According to the passage, what can we know about Gambale?

A. He did the experiment at White Sands.

B. He is confident in Locata and think highly of it.

C. He said that Locata could not work in a complex urban environment.

D. He is worried about the competition that Locata faces.

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