研究生公共英语听说(下)原文LESSON 3(B).doc

Lesson Three Computers and the InternetPart A1. M: This report is due tomorrow. Would you be able to work on it with me tonight? W: Unfortunately, I have another commitment. Q: What is the woman saying? 2. W: I wonder where the books I ordered are. I expected to receive the package several days ago. M: Maybe youd better check it out with the company. They could be temporarily out of stock. Q: What does the man suggest the woman do? 3. M: I just have to type this last page and then Im through. W: By then, Ill be done, too. Q: What can be learned about the woman? 4. W: Did you read the editorial in the paper about the mayors speech? M: I sure did. But I think they twisted the meaning of what he said. Q: What does the man say about the editorial? 5. W: Why dont we go to see a movie tonight? A good comedy might cheer you up. M: I would. But the reason that Ive been so down is all this work I have to do. Q: What can be inferred about the man? 6. W: So, are you going to see the students play tonight? M: I doubt it. Im still getting over the flu. Q: What is true about the man? 7. M: Gordon needs to find another place to live. The apartment he rents now has been sold to a new owner. W: Hed better start looking right away. When all the students come back in a few weeks, he wont find any near the campus. Q: What does the woman suggest Gordon do? 8. W: Mind if I borrow your Spanish workbook? M: Not as long as I have it back in time to take to class this evening. Q: What does the man mean? 9. W: You dont believe in diets, do you? M: There is nothing wrong with them per se but they have to be combined with exercise to do any good. Q: What is the mans attitude towards diets ? 10. W: I dont know which color folder to use, white or brown. M: What difference does it make? Its the content thats important. Q: What is the implication of the man? 11. W: You know, Ive heard that Professor Martins Introduction to Chemistry class is too demanding for first year students. They say its the most difficult course for graduate students. M: Yeah, but a lot of students will tell you otherwise. Go talk to anyone who has gone to an advanced course, like Organic Chemistry, or who studied chemistry in graduate school. Theyre really glad they started out with Professor Martin. Q: What does the man imply about Professor Martin?12. W: Hey, Mark. Have you been able to sell your old piano, yet? M: Hmm, you were right. Just posting notices on bulletin boards at a couple of supermarkets wasnt enough. I think Ill have to place an advertisement in the local newspaper. Q: Which of the following is true according to the conversation? 13. W: Im amazed that you still havent gotten to know your neighbors. M: They tend to keep to themselves. Q: Why hasnt the man gotten to know his neighbors? 14. W: Hi! Um, I think something is wrong with the washing machine. It works, and I just did my laundry, but it makes some strange noises. Maybe you should call someone to fix it. M: Oh, dont worry. Someone from the repair shop is already on the way over to take a look at it. Q: What is the implication of the man? 15. W: Its so thoughtful of you to offer to drop me off at the train station. Are you sure its not out of your way? M: Not at all. The station is really close to where Im going. Q: What can be learned about the man? Passage I The Application of Computers in Education The best method for improving educational standards is to utilize every tool available, including state-of-the-art technology. Computers and the internet have expanded the way in which information can be delivered to the students of today. Todays networking technologies provide a valuable opportunity to practise new learning techniques. Educators are discovering that computers are facilitating learning. Computer-based communications, or telecommunications, can offer many educational opportunities; therefore, educators will need to adapt current teaching methods to incorporate this new media into the classroom. Computers have made a fundamental impact on most industries, providing a competitive advantage that has come to be essential to many businesses. Therefore, schools must also use technology to improve the educational process. School systems often consider purchasing a computer network, and justify its purchase by applying it to routine administrative tasks, such as attendance records and grading. While these tasks are very important, they only show a small part of what technology can do for a school. Technology must go further than simply keeping attendance; it must focus on keeping students interested and productive. Since computers and the Internet have expanded the ways in which education can be delivered to students, it is currently possible to engage in distance education through the Internet. Distance education involves audio and video links between teachers and students in remote areas. Video conferencing allows groups to communicate with each other. Desktop video conferencing promises to bring students together from geographic and cultural distances face to face via computer. Not only will the teacher talk to the students, but the students will be able to interact with each other. This will make students more interested in learning.I.1. According to the passage, what are educators discovering?2. What do schools usually purchase computer networks for?3. According to the author, what should computers be mainly used for?4. Which of the following is NOT a feature of video conferencing?5. Which of the following is true according to the passage? II.fundamental impact; be essential; improve the educational process; justify its purchase; attendance records; what technology can doPassage II E-Commerce The Internet, as a means for commerce, did not become reality until the 1990s. Before this time, it was mainly a tool for the army, and a research device for some American universities. Its popularity grew when it proved to be a fast and efficient means to conduct long distance transactions, as well as an effective way to distribute information. The first advantage that e-commerce possesses is speed. With increased speeds of communication, the delivery time is expedited and that makes the whole transaction from start to finish more efficient. Also, you can find practically any product available for sale on the Internet. Even more significant is the fact that information appearing on the Internet can be changed rapidly. This gives business owners the ability to inform customers of any changes to the service that they are offering. The second advantage of electronic commerce is the opportunity it offers to save on costs. By using the Internet, marketing, distribution, personnel, phone, postage and printing costs, among many others, can be reduced. You can start doing business in cyberspace for as little as $100. The savings, therefore, are tremendous. These funds can then be diverted to marketing and advertising your product or service. Cyberspace knows no national boundaries. That means you can do business all over the world as easily as you can in your own neighborhood. Since the Internet connects everyone in cyberspace, information is transmitted at the speed of sound or the speed of light, depending on your connection. Either way, distance becomes meaningless, which enables you to link to nearly anyone on the globe, and anyone on the globe can link to you. The ability to establish links makes doing business on the Internet attractive to customers in any part of the world. A potential source of trouble is customer concerns with privacy and security. Anything sent over the Internet is sent through several different computers before it reaches its final destination. The concern regarding Internet security and privacy is that unscrupulous hackers can capture credit card or check account data as it is transferred or break into computers that hold the same information. Making a customer feel safe is important when doing business on the Internet. Even though no one can guarantee 100% security when transferring financial information over the Internet, e-commerce is still safer than using credit cards at an actual store or restaurant, or paying for something with the use of a 1-800 number.I.l. Before being used for commerce, what was the Internet mainly used for?2. Which one of the following is NOT a factor that can make transactions more efficient on the Internet?3. Why does distance become meaningless in e-commerce?4. What do customers worry about in e-commerce?5. What is the main idea of this passage?II.source; privacy; security; destination; credit card; transferred; feel safe; guarantee; safer than; paying forPassage III Computerized Systems It was pointed out by a computer wag that a computerized system consists of three subsystems: hardware, software, and jellyware. Hardware is the computer itself - the collection of slightly impure chunks of silicon dioxide and other metal oxides that sometimes conduct electricity and sometimes dont, but never conduct it very well. Basically, hardware is mostly sand with some metal and some organic plastic material to hold it together. Software consists of the instructions necessary in order for the hardware to do things. The instructions are nothing more than signals indicating that certain pieces of hardware are to turn themselves on or off in specific sequences at specific times in specific areas of the hardware. The basic instructions are written or given in binary terms - on or off- and other software elements translate this to and from the more complex language used by the next element in the system. Jellyware is the human being who tells the hardware what to do, who gives the hardware its data, who utilizes the output of the hardware, who writes the software, and who uses the output of the software. Jellyware itself is a computer con