1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 13及答案与解析 0 Sprint Corp. launched a pay e-mail service with Yahoo Inc. for its mobile phone customers, as the companies look to tap into the rapidly growing wireless data-service market. Starting Wednesday, Sprint users with select handsets will be able to download a program that great
2、ly speeds up the delivery of Yahoo e-mails through a more user-friendly interface. It will also allow the storage of e-mails onto the phone, so users wont have to constantly go online to review old messages. Both Sprint and Yahoo are banking that consumers will pay the additional $2.99 a month for t
3、he new features. The move by Sprint, which is based in Overland Park, Kan. to offer a premium version of an already-free service is consistent with industry comments regarding the explosive growth of the wireless data business. During an investor conference Tuesday, Verizon Communications Chief Fina
4、ncial Officer Doreen Toben touted the market opportunities for Verizons high-speed wireless data network. “Once again, this adds another brick to the building that people keep discussing thats rising around the world of voice, “ John Styers, director of communication services at Sprint, said about d
5、ata services. While all the attention is focused on streaming video and music and unique ringtones, there is also interest in the enhancement of basic services such as messaging. “Its less sexy, but highly useful, “ Styers said, adding he believes it will be broadly adopted. For Yahoo, of Sunnyvale,
6、 Calif. , this allows the Web portal to expand its presence beyond the computer and into the cellphone. While its email service is available to all US carriers for free, the company is able to better cement its brand with a downloadable interface that resembles the version seen on the computer. “ It
7、 fits into the broader strategy of expanding(Yahoos)relationship on the desktop to the mobile phone, “ said Thad White, director of mobile products at Yahoo. Yahoo will continue to offer the free service to Sprint customers. Yahoo and Sprint will share part of the revenue from the fee, but both comp
8、anies declined to break down the numbers. While the e-mail feature is Yahoos most popular, it isnt the first premium service offered. The company has a premium, messaging and photo service available, and White said to expect the company to continue exploring other possibilities to offer a pay servic
9、e. “Were constantly looking at ways to deepen our relationship, “ he said. The companies research indicated there was demand for a pay e-mail service. Styers said they are targeting customers who find email to be extremely important, but dont want to be wed to one of Research In Motion Ltd. s Blackb
10、errys. 1 What new service is offered by Sprint and Yahoo jointly? （ A） A new photo service. （ B） A new insurance service. （ C） A new email service. （ D） A new premium service. 2 How much will the customers pay for the new service a month? （ A） $0.99. （ B） $29.9. （ C） $2.99. （ D） 299 3 Both companies
11、 are determined to_according to the passage. （ A） offer another pay service continuously （ B） design new program to deepen their relationship （ C） develop new software to quicken the speed of information delivery （ D） come into the growing wireless data-service market 4 Which of the following descri
12、ptions about the new e-mail service is INCORRECT according to the passage? （ A） It is an enhancement of basic services. （ B） It is expensive to use. （ C） Its less sexy, but highly useful. （ D） It is targeting customers who find e-mail extremely important. 5 It can be inferred from the passage that_.
13、 （ A） the new e-mail service is only free for the Sprint customers （ B） the new e-mail service is free for all the US customers （ C） all cellphone customers must pay for the new e-mail service （ D） the new e-mail service is only for the Sprint customers 5 Delta Goodrem says shes learnt a lot over th
14、e past few years. But one little nugget of wisdom shell be taking with her when she moves to New York next month is the advice to keep her private life private. “Being in Australia and the UK definitely taught me a lot very young, “ the 20-year-old girl said. “You make mistakes and go, okay, I need
15、to protect myself here or I need to do this. And they(the media)can get any information they want from the past but I guess it is just a matter of keeping things more private. I dont know exactly what I have learnt. All I know is that I have a totally different perspective on things now. “ Goodrem,
16、who first became a household name as Nina Tucker on Neighbours, has rented an apartment in New York with Irish singer boyfriend Brian McFadden in a bid to break into the lucrative US market. She will move to the US following her Visualise national tour which kicks off officially this week. “I am not
17、 moving, “ Goodrem said. “1 still have my home in Sydney. I am just having a place to rent(in New York)because I cant live out of a hotel. It is fine(living in hotels)but I have done it for quite a long time now and I feel like Id like to have a base in the place I am going to be in. So Brian(McFadd
18、en)and I are renting a place. “ Goodrem will release a hybrid of her first two albums, Innocent Eyes and Mistaken Identity, in the US and recently did a series of showcase gigs to American music executives through her local label Sony BMG. For the moment, Goodrem is keenly focused on her first ever
19、national tour, marking her first major live gigs since she underwent cancer treatment in 2003. The tour began with a preview show at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Sunday but officially starts on Friday in Perth before the singer performs dates in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydn
20、ey and Hobart. “This is what I do, “ she said. “This is what I have worked hard for. This is the first time I have got to do an arena show and I just want it to be really relaxed and enjoy it. Media reports leading into the tour have focused on poor ticket sales despite a number of shows selling out
21、. But that doesnt seem to bother the singer. “ As long as those people in there think it is one of the best shows they have ever been to, then I am a very lucky girl, “ she said. “You dont worry if it is going to be full. “ Goodrem has sold millions of albums, enjoyed seven number-one singles and re
22、ceived eight ARIA awards from her two albums. She is undoubtedly one of the Australias most successful recording artists ever, and with the full support of Sony BMGs US label Columbia Records, Goodrem is likely to go well in the US. 6 What is the main idea delivered by the passage? （ A） Goodrem will
23、 continue to keep her private life private. （ B） Goodrem will have another success in the US. （ C） Goodrems new record is not popular. （ D） Goodrems tour in the US is visualised. 7 Where does Goodrems boyfriend come from? （ A） Australia. （ B） Britain. （ C） The US. （ D） Ireland. 8 Whats Goodrems atti
24、tude towards the poor ticket sales? （ A） Sad and pessimistic. （ B） relaxed, not serious about it. （ C） Optimistic and confident. （ D） Deadly hit by it. 9 It can be inferred from the passage that_. （ A） Goodrem is confident about herself （ B） Goodrem is already an international excellent popular sing
25、er （ C） the Media is not kind to her （ D） her singing career in the US is gloomy 10 Which of the following is INCORRECT according to the passage? （ A） Goodrem has enjoyed seven number-one singles. （ B） Goodrem will live in New York permanently. （ C） Goodrem first became a household name as Nina Tuck
26、er on Neighbours. （ D） Goodrem will perform dates in Adelaide, Melbourne and other places. 10 On a cool June morning, Liz Neumark is stirring up a simple summer soup for some very demanding clients. As cofounder and CEO of Great Performances, one of New York Citys most successful catering companies,
27、 Neumark has spent decades dealing with people who know what they like. But her work site today is unusual: Shes standing in a field on her organic farm in upstate New York, chopping vegetables that were harvested only a few feet away. And her running commentary isnt exactly standard either. “ We ha
28、ve to respect food, “ she tells her guests as they carefully cut up carrots and onions. “ We have to think about all the people who dont have what we have here, and treat the food nicely. “ Finally ready, the soup is ladled into bowls and lifted to half a dozen mouths simultaneously. “How does it ta
29、ste?“ Neumark asks. A little boy takes a tentative sip, then runs into the field and spits it out. “ Like poison!“ he calls, delighted with himself. Everyone cracks up, including Neumark. The boy arrived at Neumarks Katchkie Farm this morning with his classmates and teachers from PS 180 in Harlem. T
30、heyve already collected eggs from the chickens, repotted seedling(秧苗 )tomatoes, and picked vegetables, all as part of a program called the Sylvia Center, which Neumark created to show city kids where real food comes from and what it can taste like. Most of these kids have brought lunches from home t
31、hat are heavy with processed food, soda, and sweets, plus snacks with brand names and bar codes. Just getting them to think about food that comes from nature rather than a supermarket shelf will require some prodding from a woman who loves cooking, eating, gardening, and, above all, kids. Luckily, N
32、eu-mark is perfect for the job. Of course, simply being told that certain foods are good for you is not going to convince children to change their eating habits. But Neumark has seen that when kids plant and weed, harvest and cook their own food, the lesson takes root. Will the boy who was nearly “p
33、oisoned“ by the freshest of all vegetable soups be similarly converted? Theres no way of knowing, but at the very least, he now has an idea of what vegetable soup is supposed to taste like. Maybe, one day, hell be willing to give it another try. Maybe hell actually like what he tastes, and that will
34、 be one more kid connected to the planet and to the wonders of fresh food and his own body. “I wanted to inspire, create and hear the laughter of children, “ Neumark says. When shes on her farm, listening to birds, feeling life happening all around her, she says, she feels comfort and some measure o
35、f peace. 11 About Liz Neumark, the passage claims all the following EXCEPT that_. （ A） she is the cofounder and CEO of a catering company （ B） she has her own organic farm in upstate New York （ C） she likes teaching children planting and cooking on her farm （ D） she loves cooking, eating, gardening,
36、 and most important, children 12 The purpose of the Sylvia Center is to_. （ A） let the kids plant and cook fresh food by themselves （ B） show city kids where real food comes from and what it tastes like （ C） prevent the kids from eating processed food, soda and sweets （ D） convince children to chang
37、e their unhealthy eating habits 13 Which of the following is helpful for children to change their eating habits? （ A） Cooking fresh food in front of them. （ B） Asking them to taste more fresh food. （ C） Telling them that certain foods are good for their health. （ D） Letting them plant and weed, harv
38、est and cook their own food. 14 The boy who was nearly “poisoned“ by the fresh vegetable soup_. （ A） arrived at Neumarks Farm that morning with his parents （ B） swallowed a bowl of soup and vomited immediately （ C） will try this kind of soup later in his life and like the taste （ D） knows where the
39、vegetable comes from and how the soup tastes 15 We can learn from the passage that_. （ A） the Sylvia Center is a good program for city kids on eating （ B） nobody likes the taste of the vegetable soup （ C） all kids think that food comes from supermarket shelf （ D） convincing children to change their
40、eating habits is easy 15 DVD rental kiosks(售货亭 )from Redbox and Blockbuster seem to be popping up on every corner these days, but home-video market analysts are predicting that demand for the ultra-convenient kiosks could soon start cooling off as video streaming and video-on-demand gain in populari
41、ty. Mind you, analysts at J. P. Morgan arent sounding the death knell for DVD kiosks just yet, according to KioskMarketplace. com(via Home Media Magazine). Indeed, another analyst quoted in the KioskMarketplace story thinks it will take “ several years“ for J. P. Morgans “gloomy“ scenario to play ou
42、t. But the authors of the Morgan report do believe that the DVD kiosk business will peak in 2011 as competitors like Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and your friendly neighborhood cable carrier begin offering more and more streaming and video-on-demand options. As video-on-demand begins to rise, so must DVD
43、 kiosks begin to fall, say the analysts, who warn that home-video kiosk companies like Redbox better have a plan B up their sleeves before the market for DVDs-from-a-kiosk starts its slow, perhaps inevitable fade. While the struggling Blockbuster already has a plan B Blockbuster OnDemand, although i
44、ts not entirely clear whether there will still be a Blockbuster come 2012 the wildly popular Redbox still doesnt have a streaming-video service.or not yet, anyway. Redbox execs have been mulling(思索 )their on-demand options for months now, and it could have something to launch before the year is out,
45、 according to the latest chatter indeed, one possibility is that it may partner up with Sonic Solutions, which already powers Blockbuster OnDemand. Keep in mind, though, that the J. P. Morgan report is aimed at investors looking at the long-term strategies of Redbox and Blockbuster. For the average
46、couch potato and no offense, by the way, given that Im one of them physical DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as DVD rental kiosks, will be around for years to come. After all, DVD and even Blu-ray rentals are still more affordable and convenientthere is no need for a broadband connection or a pricey cable
47、 subscription and DVD decks are dirt cheap, while kiosks abound in neighborhood grocery and drug stores. The selection of titles is unbeatable the disc library at Netflix HQ, for example, still dwarfs that of its streaming database. And for my money, DVD and Blu-ray video quality beats on-demand, es
48、pecially Netflixs “ Watch Instantly“ titles, and particularly the bad, sometimes poorly framed SD ones, practically every time. On the flip side, have you seen “Avatar“ on Blu-ray yet? If not, I urge you to check it out even in 2D, its truly something to see. That said, as broadband gets faster and
49、more dependable, streaming rental prices fall, and movie studios get more enthusiastic about on-demand in the face of dwindling DVD revenue, physical DVDs and Blu-rays(along with the kiosks that rent them)seem bound or doomed to go the way of the CD still around, but fading in the shadow of their online counterparts. So, what do you think; Will streaming video eventually overtake the growth of DVD rental kiosks like Redbox? Or are the Wall Street analysts being a little too quick to sound the alarm?
