All over the planet, they are disappearing. Scientists are worried. It may mean the end of the world. I'm
not talking about disappearing frogs. I'm talking about absent vowels (元音). I got a message the other day
that said," Mt@ 3rd st crnr@ 12", signed (签字) "BT". What did it mean? A young man in the office told
me that BT meant" beauty" and translated:" A beautiful young woman wants to meet you at the corner of
Third Street at noon."  
     The following week I was at a private dining club when a Hong Kong banker named David told me he
had met with a man who pronounced his name Choong,but spelt C - H - N - G." There can't be many names
with no vowels in them," he said. It turned out he was sitting next to a Singaporean doctor named Ng. Vowels
are disappearing at high speed among businesses, too. Ever wondered what happened to Reebok, the
sportswear company? It's still around but has renamed itself Rbk. Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC.
      I've read articles saying that the no-vowels trend (趋向) is caused by companies trying to give their
products the shorthand spelling liked by young people. But a research finds that the real reason is often more
uninteresting. Flickr,one of the busiest websites on the Internet, was set up by people who wanted the name
Flicker but were too careless to register (注册) that word.
     Have any readers ever been to a small town in the mountains of California called Zzyzx? A man named
Curtis Howe Springer founded it as a health club and called it Zzyzx because he thought it sounded different.
The business failed. People who looked through lists for somewhere to go never reached it.
     Older readers may remember the computer game Zzyzzyzz that appeared in 1982. Fans did not know
how to ask for it. James Gleick's book Faster has been re-titled FSTR. But the revision is half-hearted with
the main text of the book still having vowels. Why not write the whole book in the simpler way? U cn stll rd
the wtht vwls. On the other hand,just know that vowel-free words can be explained in different ways. One
day I'll get a message from a BT  who may be a beauty. But I'm afraid a bat (蝙蝠) will be out there.

1. The writer's purpose in the passage is _______.

A. to introduce a new trend
B. to study a new language
C. to correct a new mistake 
D. to show a new method

2. The word "around" in the third paragraph means _______.

A. on every side
B. here and there
C. present in a place
D. without special purposes

3. What's the result of the use of vowel-free words,according to the passage?

A. It makes communication easier.
B. It helps us write more quickly.
C. It bringsa lot of fun to people.
D. It causes some trouble in life.

4. What does the writer think of the use of vowel-free words?

A. He doubts the idea a little.
B. He doesn't mind the matter.
C. He doesn't think it's good to do so.
D. He accepts the idea at last.