歷年真題來源報刊閱讀50篇連載(1)

　　1. A fuzzy picture

　　(The Economist, Jan 5th,2006)

　　“THIS is a really exciting time—a new era is starting,” says Peter Bazalgette, the chief creative officer of Endemol, the television company behind “Big Brother” and other popular shows. He is referring to the upsurge of interest in mobile television, a nascent industry at the intersection of telecoms and media which offers new opportunities to device-makers, content producers and mobile-network operators.

　　Already, many mobile operators offer a selection of television channels or individual shows, which are “streamed” across their third-generation (3G) networks. In South Korea, television is also sent to mobile phones via satellite and terrestrial broadcast networks, which is far more efficient than sending video across mobile networks. In Europe, the Italian arm of 3, a mobile operator, recently acquired Canale 7, a television channel, with a view to launching mobile-TV broadcasts in Italy in the second half of 2006.

　　Meanwhile, Apple Computer, which launched a video-capable version of its iPod portable music-player in October, is striking deals with television networks to expand the range of shows that can be purchased for viewing on the device, including “Lost”, “Desperate Housewives” and “Law & Order”.

　　Despite all this activity, however, the prospects for mobile-TV are unclear. For a start, nobody really knows if consumers will pay for it, though surveys suggest they like the idea. Informa, a consultancy, says there will be 125m mobile-TV users by 2010. But many other mobile technologies inspired high hopes and then failed to live up to expectations. And even if people do want TV on the move, there is further uncertainty in two areas: technology and business models.

　　At the moment, mobile TV is mostly streamed over 3G networks. But sending an individual data stream to each viewer is inefficient and will be unsustainable in the long run if mobile-TV takes off. So the general consensus is that 3G streaming is a prelude to the construction of dedicated mobile-TV broadcast networks, which transmit digital TV signals on entirely different frequencies to those used for voice and data. There are three main standards: DVB-H, favoured in Europe; DMB, which has been adopted in South Korea and Japan; and MediaFLO, which is being rolled out in America. Watching TV using any of these technologies requires a TV-capable handset, of course.

　　In contrast, watching downloaded TV programmes on an iPod or other portable video player is already possible today. And unlike a programme streamed over 3G or broadcast via a dedicated mobile-TV network, shows stored on an iPod can be watched on an underground train or in regions with patchy network coverage. That suggests that some shows (such as drama) better suit the download model, while others (such as live news, sports or reality shows) are better suited to real-time transmission. The two approaches will probably co-exist.

　　Just as there are several competing mobile-TV technologies, there are also many possible business models. Mobile operators might choose to build their own mobile-TV broadcast networks; or they could form a consortium and build a shared network; or existing broadcasters could build such networks.

　　The big question is whether the broadcasters and mobile operators can agree how to divide the spoils, assuming there are any. Broadcasters own the content, but mobile operators generally control the handsets, and they do not always see eye to eye. In South Korea, a consortium of broadcasters launched a free-to-air DMB network last month, but the country’s mobile operators were reluctant to provide their users with handsets able to receive the broadcasts, since they were unwilling to undermine the prospects for their own subscription-based mobile-TV services.

　　Then there is the question of who will fund the production of mobile-TV content: broadcasters, operators or advertisers? Again, the answer is probably “all of the above”.

　　1. The word “nascent” (line 3, paragraph 1) most probably means .

　　A. significant B. Time-consuming

　　C. apparent D. Brand-new

　　2. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that .

　　A. communication companies welcome mobile TV

　　B. mobile-TV is not allowed in many countries

　　C. mobile-TV has already been served in many countries

　　D. mobile-TV is coming to an end

　　3. The author cites the example of Informa to demonstrate that .

　　A. the prospect of mobile-TV is bright

　　B. surveys and observations on mobile-TV is not quite credible

　　C. MTV has encountered great technology troubles

　　D. consultancy companies play an important role in MTV business

　　4. According to the passage, the author istowards the prospects of MTV .

　　A. optimistic B. impartial C. puzzled D. suspicious

　　5. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

　　A. MTV, a Foggy Business B. Embracing MTV

　　C. Business Models D. Ways for MTV

　　考研詞匯

　　launch

　　v.①發(fā)射;②使(船)下水;③發(fā)動,開展;

　　n.發(fā)射,下水

　　[真題例句]The debate was launched (v.③) by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC—including ordinary listeners and viewers—to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping.[1996年閱讀2]

　　[例句精譯]這場爭論是英國政府發(fā)起的,它邀請每一位對BBC有看法的人——包括普通的聽眾和觀眾——對公司好壞進(jìn)行評論,甚至可以評論他們是否認(rèn)為公司值得辦下去。

　　inspire

　　v.①鼓舞,激起;②使產(chǎn)生靈感

　　consensus

　　n.(意見等)一致,一致同意

　　[真題例句] In a draft preface to the recommendations, discussed at the 17 May meeting, Shapiro suggested that the panel had found a broad consensus that it would be “morally unacceptable to attempt to create a human child by adult nuclear cloning.”[1999年閱讀4]

　　[例句精譯] 在5月17日會議上討論的建議序言草案中,夏皮羅表示,專家組已取得廣泛的共識,認(rèn)為“試圖利用成人細(xì)胞核去克隆嬰兒從道義上講是無法接受的”。

　　transmit

　　v.①傳播,發(fā)射;②傳遞,傳導(dǎo)

　　[真題例句] 61. From the passage we can infer that.[1995年閱讀3]

　　[A] electronic mail will soon play a dominant role in transmitting (①) messages

　　[例句精譯] 61�备鶕�(jù)本文,我們可以推斷出：

　　[A]電子郵件將很快在信息傳播中起主導(dǎo)作用

　　adopt

　　v.①采用,采納,通過;②收養(yǎng)

　　[真題例句] Too many schools adopt (①) the “win at all costs” moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements.[1995年閱讀4]

　　[例句精譯] 太多的學(xué)校采用“不惜一切代價獲取成功”的道德標(biāo)準(zhǔn)并通過炫耀成績來估量孩子們是否成功。

　　portable

　　a.輕便的,手提(式)的

　　背景知識介紹

　　移動電視技術(shù)

　　從目前全球范圍內(nèi)手機(jī)電視的業(yè)務(wù)開展來看,存在兩種比較主要的方式：流媒體和廣播。為了開發(fā)手機(jī)電視的市場需求,部分電信系統(tǒng)商已經(jīng)開始在手機(jī)上提供電視收視的服務(wù), 這些服務(wù)和傳統(tǒng)電視并不相同,手機(jī)通過電信網(wǎng)絡(luò)(2.5G/2.75G/3G)連接到媒體服務(wù)器, 采用點對點流媒體方式播放,而非多點式的廣播。但當(dāng)3G的使用越來越普遍后,利用大量頻率提供廉價電視內(nèi)容的播放將會越來越不經(jīng)濟(jì),同時對大規(guī)模的商業(yè)運營在技術(shù)上也相當(dāng)不實際。手機(jī)電視業(yè)務(wù)數(shù)據(jù)是通過衛(wèi)星或地面數(shù)字廣播來進(jìn)行傳輸。但是,由于廣播方式可能同時牽涉到電信運營商和廣播網(wǎng)絡(luò)運營商,商業(yè)模式上相對復(fù)雜,特別是在管制較嚴(yán)的國家受政策因素的影響較大,制約較多,給商用運營帶來一定的難度。

　　參考譯文

　　移動電視正在出現(xiàn)——但是市場將怎樣發(fā)展下去卻仍然不得而知

　　“這真是一個令人激動的時刻 ——一個新的時代正在開始”,Endemol 電視公司的首席創(chuàng)意官Peter Bazalgette這樣宣稱,他談到了眾人對移動電視的巨大興趣,這是一個在電信和媒體領(lǐng)域有交叉的新興產(chǎn)業(yè),給設(shè)備制造商、電視內(nèi)容制作者以及移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)運營商提供了新的機(jī)遇。

　　許多移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)運營商已經(jīng)通過他們的第三代(3G)網(wǎng)絡(luò)用流媒體方式提供了一些電視頻道以及個人表演。在韓國,電視節(jié)目也通過衛(wèi)星和地面廣播網(wǎng)傳送給移動電話,這遠(yuǎn)比通過移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)傳輸視頻更為有效。比較近在歐洲,意大利3G移動運營商買下了一個電視頻道“第七頻道”,目的是為了2006年下半年在意大利發(fā)射移動電視信號。

　　與此同時,蘋果電腦公司在10月發(fā)售了一款可以觀看電視的便攜式音樂播放器iPod,這個播放器大大擴(kuò)展了電視網(wǎng)絡(luò)節(jié)目的范圍,其可以供用戶購買的、用于在移動終端的節(jié)目范圍令人驚奇,包括《迷失》、《絕望的主婦》以及《法律與秩序》。

　　然而,盡管有這么多的商業(yè)行為,移動電視的前景依舊是不明朗的。作為一個開端,沒有人真正清楚消費者是否樂意為它付費,即使調(diào)查顯示他們喜歡這個主意。一個名為Informa的顧問表示到2010年將會有1.23億移動電視用戶。但是有許多其他的移動技術(shù)盡管給了人們很高的期待,比較終卻沒能做出成績。就算人們真的需要在移動中觀看電視,還有兩方面的不確定因素存在著：技術(shù)和商業(yè)模式。

　　在現(xiàn)階段,移動電視主要通過3G網(wǎng)絡(luò)用流媒體方式來傳送,但是給每一個觀眾發(fā)送一段單獨的數(shù)據(jù)流的效果會很差,而且在長時間的運動中也會不穩(wěn)定,比如說在移動電視被關(guān)閉時。因此大多數(shù)人認(rèn)為3G技術(shù)只是建立起一個專門的移動電視廣播網(wǎng)絡(luò)的前奏,這個網(wǎng)絡(luò)以一種全然不同的頻率為使用聲音和數(shù)據(jù)的人傳送數(shù)字電視信號,主要分為3種：DVB�睭,主要在歐洲受到歡迎;DMB,正在韓國和日本被采用;以及MediaFLO,已經(jīng)在美國鋪開其網(wǎng)絡(luò)。

　　與此相反,在iPod或其他便攜式視頻播放器上觀看下載的電視節(jié)目已經(jīng)成為可能,而且不像那些通過3G網(wǎng)絡(luò)或?qū)Ｓ靡苿与娨暰W(wǎng)傳送的節(jié)目,人們可以在地鐵里或者網(wǎng)絡(luò)信號覆蓋不穩(wěn)定的地區(qū)觀看儲存在iPod上的節(jié)目。這說明有些節(jié)目(比如戲劇)比較適合用下載的形式,而另一些節(jié)目(比如現(xiàn)場直播新聞、體育節(jié)目或現(xiàn)場節(jié)目)更加適合實時播送。這兩種方法有可能共存。

　　就像有幾種互相競爭的移動電視技術(shù)那樣,同樣存在著幾種可能的商業(yè)模式。移動運營商也許會選擇建立起他們自己的移動電視廣播網(wǎng);或者他們可以組成聯(lián)盟建立起一個共享網(wǎng)絡(luò);或者現(xiàn)有的廣播公司會建立起類似的網(wǎng)絡(luò)。

　　如果這個網(wǎng)絡(luò)可以贏利,關(guān)鍵問題就是廣播公司能否和移動運營商就如何劃分利益達(dá)成一致。廣播公司擁有節(jié)目內(nèi)容,但掌上終端通常都由移動運營商控制,而且他們并不總是意見一致。在韓國,廣播公司聯(lián)盟上個月開播了一個免費的DMB網(wǎng)絡(luò),但是這個國家的移動運營商卻并不愿意為他們的用戶提供能夠接收這個廣播信號的掌上終端,因為他們不愿破壞他們自己擁有付費移動電視業(yè)務(wù)的前景。

　　于是,接下來的問題就是誰將投資移動電視內(nèi)容的制作：廣播公司、運營商還是廣告商?同樣的,答案很可能是“他們所有人”。

　　答案及解析

　　1.詞匯題【正確答案】D

　　根據(jù)文章第一段第二句中的...at the intersection of telecoms and media which offers new opportunities...可以推知。

　　2.推理題【正確答案】C

　　根據(jù)文章第二段第一句...which are ‘streamed’ across their third�瞘eneration(3G) networks以及后面的列舉韓國和意大利的例子可知移動電視已經(jīng)擴(kuò)展到許多國家，因此選C。A項沒有提及，B項和D項與文章意思相反。

　　3.例證題【正確答案】A

　　根據(jù)文章第四段，Informa用數(shù)字闡述了移動電視的使用數(shù)量，后面一句“But...”表達(dá)了消極的意思，根據(jù)這一轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系，可以推知前句必然是積極的，因此Informa例子是為了表明移動電視前景光明。其他各項均不符合題意。

　　4.作者態(tài)度題【正確答案】D

　　根據(jù)文章第四段第一句... however, the prospect for mobile�睺V are unclear.以及后面的論述，可知作者對移動電視的前景持懷疑態(tài)度，并有條理地分析了其前景不明朗的原因，因此選D。

　　5.中心主旨題【正確答案】A

　　文中反復(fù)提出移動電視前景還是一個未知數(shù)，并詳細(xì)分點說明了原因，因此選A。