After months of fear, hate and prosecution(迫害), the music and consumer-electronics industry decided to try to make beautiful music together. Last week the Secure Digital Music Initiative, a combination of 100 music, electronics and high-tech companies announced that it agreed on a music format(格式) known as MP3 which caused disagreement. Nowadays, more and more young people are fond of music that is played on their portable MP3 players. So this announcement attracted a lot of attention in both the producer and consumer sides.

       MP3 allows the digital music in CDs to be made smaller to a tenth its size and still sounds great. MP3 songs are small enough to be traded online; they are made by the millions to the consternation of record companies, which fear that everything ever released on disc will end up online for free. Traditional records and their sale may be greatly damaged by this new format of music, and for the music’s sake, it is better conveyed in this new medium.

       That’s why the recording industry appealed to the court against little Diamond Multimedia when it started selling a portable MP3 player two years ago. Not only did Diamond win in court, but it also sold 100,000 Rios along the way. With half a dozen other companies racing to produce their own versions of the Rio for Christmas, what could the music industry do? They have no choice in their future, their success just depends on how they can deal with the new trend and cooperate with the electronics companies.

       It couldn’t ignore MP3, which has become the format of choice among new bands trying to advertise their pre-released songs. So the industry agreed on it on one condition: within 18 months, when a standard is adopted that allows piracy-protected music (free from being illegally copied) to be sold online, the electronics companies agree to make their players in line with it. This clears the way for the new magic MP3 players, which is both convenient and capable of carrying on much more music than traditional walkmans. What’s next? Digitally pirated movies. Get ready, Hollywood.

 

72. The most appropriate title for the passage may be       .

 A. “MP3 Clears Its Way”              B. “Music And Electronics”

 C. “Piracy Along The Way”          D. “Movie Is The Next”

73. According to the passage, what is NOT an advantage of the MP3 format?

     A. The size of music can be shortened to one tenth of its original size.

     B. The fans can enjoy the music before the formal release of the music.

     C. The new musicians can enter the industry more easily.

     D. The struggle against piracy will be proved difficult.

74. According to the last paragraph, what will happen to Hollywood?

     A. The movies will not worry about the situation in the music field.

     B. The movies can be easily pirated with this new format.

     C. The songs in movies will be recorded in the MP3 format.

     D. The new technology has little to do with the movie industry.

75. In the second paragraph, the meaning of the word “consternation” is closest to       .

     A. calmness          B. peacefulness         C. shock      D. intention

 

    It was not yet eleven o’clock when a boat crossed the river with a single passenger who had obtained his transportation at that unusual hour by promising an extra fare. While the youth stood in the landing-place searching in his pockets for money, the boatman lifted a lantern(lamp), by the aid of which, studied the stranger’s figure. He was a young man of barely eighteen years old, evidently country bred, and now, as it seemed, on his first visit to town. He was wearing a rough gray coat, which was in good shape, but which had seen many winters before this one. The trousers were made of leather, and fitted tightly to a pair of muscular legs; his stockings of blue yarn (毛线) must have been the work of a mother or sister, and on his head was a three-cornered hat, which in its better days had perhaps sheltered the grayer head of his father. In his left hand was a walking stick, and his equipment was completed by a leather bag not so heavy as to give burden to the strong shoulders on which it hung. Brown, curly hair, well-shaped features, bright, cheerful eyes were nature’s gifts, and worth all that art could have done for his adornment(装饰). The youth, whose name was Robin, paid the boatman , and then walked forward into the town with a light step, as if he had not already traveled more than thirty miles that day. As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings as eagerly as if he were entering London or Madrid, instead of the little metropolis (主要城市) of a New England colony.

 

67. At what time of day did the youth cross the river?

      A. Morning.       B. Midday.                C. Late afternoon.      D. Night.

68. The stockings that the youth wore were obviously _____.

      A. well worn     B. very expensive        C. handmade            D. much too big

69. From the way he looked it was obvious that the youth was _____.

      A. a wealthy merchant’s son            B. raised in the country

      C. an experienced farmer                   D. wearing some adornments

70. The youth was probably going to town _____.

      A. to buy new clothes                           B. for the first time

      C. for the first time in several years         D. on one of his regular trips there

71. The coat which the young man was dressed in _____.

      A. was new and in good shape               B. was cut out very well

      C. had been used for a lot of years          D. fitted him well

 

THEATRE

 

City Varieties

The Headrow, Leeds. Tel. 430808

Oct 10-11 only A Night at the Varieties. All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Dural and the Tony Harrison Trio. Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favourite songs.

Performances: 8 pm nightly.

Admission: ₤5; under 16 or over 60: ₤4.

York Theatre Royal

St Leonard’s Place, York. Tel. 223568

Sept 23- Oct 17 Groping for Words-- a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class, which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy.

Admission: First night, Mon: ₤2; Tues- Fri: ₤3.25 - 5.50; Sat: ₤3.50 - 5.75.

Halifax Playhouse

King’s Cross Street, Halifax. Tel. 365998

Oct 10-17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy about real people. A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don’t miss it.

Performances: 7:30 pm.

Admission: ₤2. Mon: 2 seats for the price of one.

Grand Theatre

Oxford Street, Leeds. Tel. 502116

Restaurant and Cafe  

Oct 1-17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book.

Performances: Evenings 7:45. October 10-17, at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances.

Admission: Tues-Thurs: ₤2- 5; Fri & Sat: ₤2- 6.

 

64. Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?

   A. Halifax Playhouse.  B. City Varieties.  C. Grand Theatre.  D. York Theatre Royal.

65. If you want to see a play with old jokes and songs, which phone number will you ring to book a seat?

   A. 502116            B. 223568        C. 365998         D. 430808

66. We may learn from the text that Sue Townsend is________.

   A. a writer            B. an actress      C. a musician      D. a director

 

    At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.

    It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. “I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down.” says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.

     Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.

    Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. “I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling.” said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.

 

60. The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to_________.             

     A. the rapid development of small businesses      

     B. the opening up of new markets

     C. the printing of high quality copies

     D. the increased use of the Internet

61. Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is __________.         

     A. to encourage printing more quality documents

     B. to develop new printers using recycled paper

     C. to find new materials for making paper

     D. to plant more fast growing trees

62. Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because__________.           

     A. people are concerned about the environment

     B. printers in many offices are working overtime

     C. small companies need more hard copies

     D. they see a growing market for printers

63. What would be the best title for the text?

     A. Computers and Printers                           B. E-mail and the Business World

     C. Internet Revolution and Environment        D. Modern Technology and New Markets

                        
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