题目内容
Apple has entered the textbook market. The tech giant（科技巨头） introduced iBooks textbooks a couple of weeks ago when it announced its iBooks 2 platform. They are digital books in many subjects taking in science, maths, history and geography.
Apple developed its iPad-based textbooks in conjunction with（连接）major textbook publishers. The company offers a collection of textbooks for high school students.
Apple says it offers a “new textbook experience” and suggests its iBooks textbooks are “the next chapter in learning”. It sounds like good news for pupils and students. Think of it. No more carrying heavy backpacks full of textbooks. Every textbook you require can be stored on your iPad. No more having to buy expensive textbooks which you will only use for a year or two and then sell or give away.
Of course there’s a catch. You need to own an iPad and as you know, it is not cheap. You also need to buy digital textbooks, mostly priced each at $14.99 (94.74 yuan) or less. Textbook publishing was worth $ 8.7 billion in the US alone last year. And the rest, as they say, is history. Will Apple revolutionize learning? Will digital books take over completely in education? That remains to be seen.
【小题1】What is the best title of the text?
| A．Apple Enters New Market | B．A Different Way of Learning | C．Experience Digital Texbooks | D．Say Good-bye to Tradition |
| A．they are free to get | B．they are easy to carry |
| C．they are ipad-based | D．they are favorite gifts |
| A．an advantage | B．a surprise |
| C．a problem | D．an order |
| A．iPad-based textbooks have changed our learning. |
| B．Traditional textbooks will be replaced sooner or later. |
| C．Apple has earned a lot from the textbook market. |
| D．Digital books have disadvantages and advantages. |
【小题1】A
【小题2】B
【小题3】C
【小题4】D
解析试题分析：本文陈述了苹果发布iBooks 2成为苹果向教育领域迈出的重要一步。那么苹果究竟能否掀起这场学习革命呢？让我们拭目以待。
【小题1】
【小题2】从第二段No more carrying heavy backpacks. Every textbook you require can be stored on your iPad.可推断出苹果电子书便于携带。
【小题3】从下文You need to own an iPad and ...it is not cheap. You also need to buy digital textbooks可知虽然苹果电子书有很多优点，但也存在问题：昂贵。所以a catch
【小题4】从最后一段Will digital books take over completely in education? That remains to be seen可排除ABC，在文章第二，三段分别提到苹果电子书的优缺点，所以可知D为正确答案。
考点：科普说明文。
点评：本文陈述了苹果已经进入教科书市场。科普性说明文的主题比较容易把握，一般在文章开头段。在答题中，应首先略读一下短文，了解一下短文的大致意思。然后带着问题通读全文，找出答题依据，完成阅读。另外词义猜测题注意到上下文去找相关信息。
Riding a London subway, a person from China will notice one major difference; in London, people do not look at each other. In fact, eye contact is avoided at all time. That's not rudeness— people are just too busy to bother looking.
Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they're certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet reflection（沉思）.Nor are they reading a book. New techology has replaced quiet habits. Today the only acceptable form of book on the London Underground is an e-book.
Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（乘车上下班的人）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000-yes, that's 40,000-"apps"(programs downloaded for the iPhone)have been designed.
Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-filler. One "app"，called iShoot, is a game that features tanks. Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination（目的地）. ISteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the "steam" on your phone screen.
For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction（消遣）of choice. It's not just teenagers who "plug in" to their music-iPods are a popular 
way to pass the time for all ages.
And if games, e-books and music aren't enough to keep you occupied. Then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm（掌上）DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV show or film on the way to work. Wi
th all this distraction, it's amazing that people still remember to get off the train.
【小题1】People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because they are busy .
| A．going to work |
| B．reading books |
| C．thinking private thoughts |
| D．playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films |
| A．habits | B．“apps” | C．iPhones | D．films |
| A．iShoot | B．Tube Exits | C．iSteam | D．i Pod |
| A．delighted | B．busy | C．amused | D．controlled |
| A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers |
| B．Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40,000 apps |
| C．technology is changing the way London commuters spend their traveling time |
| D．with all the new time-fillers, London commuters often forget to get off the train. |
To switch or not to switch, that is the question．Google’s announcement of its Nexus One smartphone（智能手机） happened over a week ago and I’m still receiving lots of e-mails from readers asking the same question: Should they give up their iPhone for the Nexus One?
Some people with iPhones, disappointed by American Telephone&Telegraph’s inadequate service and the high monthly cost, are wondering if they have really got something to replace it．Does the Nexus One offer the functions that Apple has led them to expect?
I’m on the fence myself, even though I never thought I’d be interested in anything but the iPhone．From my experience using the Nexus One, and from talking to people who have made the change, it’s not necessarily about the differences between the iPhone and the Nexus One．The phones are extremely similar in design and general feel．Instead, the decision can be made based on the software（软件） services you use on your desktop．
My friend Chad Dickerson received a pre-launch Nexus One from Google three weeks ago．He said Google’s phone feels connected to certain services on the Web in a way the iPhone doesn’t．“Compared to the iPhone, the Google phone feels like it’s part of the Internet to me,” he said．“If you live in a Google world, you have that world in your pocket in a way that’s cleaner and more connected than the iPhone．”
Personally, the phones work perfectly with their own software, but both of them don’t make an effort to play well with other services．
【小题1】Why are some iPhone users expecting a new type of phone?
| A．Because their old ones are out of date． |
| B．Because they accept Google’s announcement． |
| C．Because of the limited service and high cost． |
| D．Because of the terrible software they can use．． |
| A．Negative | B．Neutral | C．Indifferent | D．Positive |
| A．better than | B．worse than | C．as good as | D．as bad as |
| A．Apple’s New Smartphone |
| B．Torn Between Two Phones |
| C．Good Services Matter |
| D．Google’s New Smartphone |
The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” —and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer —which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet —adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear —popular in the US and UK—that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”.
A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came to use..
Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College. London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines.” Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.
“However, thanks
to Apple, the term is now associated with portability(轻便),” adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared.
( ) 【小题1】. People use iPlayer to .
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
| A．young readers | B．old readers | C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
| A．popular | B．uncertain | C．definite | D．unique |
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly | C．advanced | D．recyclable |
| A．“i” products are often of a high quality |
B．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
| C．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products |
| D．iTeddy is a live bear |
Many cities have subways and underground public transportation to take locals and tourists alike rapidly around the city．However, there’s something different about riding a London subway．It may not look different, but the historical value of one of England’s most popular forms of transportation is enough to make riding the subway a must when visiting London．With a little under 300 different stations, the subway can take you almost anywhere you need to go．
Riding a London subway, a person from other countries will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times．That’s not rudeness―people are just too busy to bother looking．
Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet thinking．Nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．
Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（使用月票上下班者）．Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000―yes, that’s 40,000 “apps” have been designed．
Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers．One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination．iSteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone．You can then write in the “steam” on your phone screen．
For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction（消遣）of choice．It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music－iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．
And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied, then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV shows or films on the way to work．With all these distractions, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train．
1.Those who want to save time to reach where they go can download ______ to their iPhones．
|
A．iShoot |
B．iPod |
C．iSteam |
D．Tube Exits |
2.People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because ______．
|
A．they are going to work and have no time to communicate with each other |
|
B．they are busy playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching film |
|
C．they feel sleepy because of getting up early |
|
D．they love reading books and do not want to be disturbed |
3.The underlined word “apps” in the fourth paragraph means ______．
|
A．computers |
|
B．fortune from London commuters |
|
C．computer companies |
|
D．programs downloaded for the iPhone |
4.Which word best describes the writer’s attitude towards commuters’ behaviors ?
|
A．for |
B．neutral |
C．against |
D．hateful |
5.The main idea of the passage is that ______．
|
A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers |
|
B．technology is changing how London commuters spend their traveling time |
|
C．Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40,000 apps |
|
D．riding a London subway is a must when visiting London |
