Part I Reading Comprehension (40 points)
Directions: There are 8 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should choose the best one and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Passage 1
Electronics works as a slave on the sea-bed and in space; in marketing and on the moon; in hospitals and on the race track. And yet this revolution only began with the thermionic valve, developed after the Wright brothers first proved that heavier-than-air machines could fly. Radio was the first practical and commercial development, the second leap forward came in 1947 with the more mature semiconductor technology. Then came a new world of solid state devices on a miniature scale, offering unparalleled benefits of speed and cost.
Pre-transistor equipment is now viewed as crude and clumsy, yet it manages to produce such far-reaching techniques as radar. Computers made before the transistor were elementary, enormous and slow by modern standards. The revolution reached its peak in the late1950s, with the successful breakthrough into the world of micro-electronics. This is a new series of micro-miniature electronic devices in the solid state, offering almost limitless scope in designing and producing complete circuits on a tiny chip of silicon, not much bigger than a pin-head. However, the conventional technology of the day----based on the transistor----had been developed to quite a sophisticated level. Thus it was possible to fit essential electronics to earth satellites and space probes, to take the computer to a more advanced stage and to start an entirely new industry. Today micro-electronics stands as the foundation of the industry’s total fut ure, offering vast potentialities. The scene in the next century cannot be precisely predicted, but clearly the efforts of this industry will be aimed at making life easier. Advanced electronic control techniques will take the drudgery out of most work; the factory and office will largely be the arena of automation and even housework will be more a 112663904054.doc 第 1 页共 22
question of efficient programming, rather than of tedious chores.
This outlook poses some of the largest problems that this relatively young industry has had to face. Until recently, the electronics industry has been more concerned with developing the technology. Now many of the applications dictate the technology. Yesterday it was hard to imagine another breakthrough as important as the silicon integrated circuit----today we are entering a new world----the world of the microprocessor, just fifteen years after the industry came to adolescence.
1.How are the pre-transistor computers viewed now
a.Pre-transistor computers are now viewed as crude and clumsy.
b.Pre-transistor computers managed to produce far-reaching
techniques.
c.Pre-transistor computers are now viewed as elementary, enormous and
slow.
d.Pre-transistor computers are mow viewed as modern and advanced.
2.When did micro-electronics come into being
a.In1947.
b.In the late 1950s.
c.When a new world of solid state devices on a miniature scale came.
d.When computers were mad
e.
3.What are the different stages of the development of electronics
a.Thermionic valve----semicondutor ---- solid state
devices----microprocessor.
b.Solid state devices----micro-electronics----integrated circuit.
c.Thermionic valve----micro-electronics----integrated circuit.
d.Thermionic valve ----solid state devices----
micro-electronics----microprocessor.
4.What is the latest development of electronics
a.The world of the microprocessor.
b.The silicon integrated circuit.
c.The complete circuits on a tiny chip of silicon.
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