难句突破


One trick, described by Todd Juenger of TiVo as “closer to a silver bullet”, is to run advertisements that resemble programmes——in some cases featuring stars from the show people are trying to watch.

主体句式：One trick is to run advertisements.

结构分析：本句中主句的主语one trick之后插入了一个分词短语，补充说明主语。that resemble programmes为定语从句，修饰先行词advertisements。破折号之后的部分进一步补充说明advertisements，其中the show后面还带了一个省略that的定语从句。

句子译文：其中一个技巧，据TiVo的托德·荣格尔说“简直就是制胜之道”，就是使广告与节目相似——在某些情况下，出演广告的明星正是来自观众想收看的节目。





题目分析


1. B 推理题。作者在第二段中指出，“拥有DVR的家庭的收入大约超出平均水平两万美元”，因此选项B正确。尽管该段开头说预测从某种程度上来说是正确的，但段落中间的一个Yet笔锋一转，引出DVR的使用情况并不像人们预期的那样，可见A选项是不正确的。既然DVR的使用没有预期的那么频繁，所以C不正确。该段还指出“只有不到3%的广告被跳过”，可见D也不正确。

2. A 细节题。虽然David Poltrack的话出现在第三段，但其实与第四段的关系更加紧密。David Poltrack指出，广播电视网络已经经受了DVR的大部分影响。第四段开头紧接着指出DVR的威胁是微不足道的，因此A是最佳选择。B和C的信息虽然在第四段中有所提及，但都与题干中的问题无关。而D选项表述的因果关系在文中并没有明确描述，因此也不正确。

3. D 语义题。根据文章第四段，“其中一个技巧…是使广告与节目相似——在某些情况下，出演广告的明星正是来自观众想收看的节目”。可见这是一个非常好的方法，就像银色子弹一样，因此选D。而选项B所说的资金投入和选项C所说的经济实惠都没有体现。

4. A 推理题。根据上一句“Hulu和其他的流媒体网站变得越来越流行，给予了消费者极大的主导权，被认为威胁到了靠广告支持的电视产业”，似乎选项B和C都符合文章的意思。但是最后一句话其实呼应了开头，因为十年前人们担心DVR会导致电视产业衰落，但事实上DVR反而进一步巩固了后者的发展。现在人们又开始担心流媒体网站会取代电视产业，可以推断作者认为这种担心很可能也是多余的，因此A最符合这个意思。

5. B 情感态度题。作者全篇都使用了客观的口吻。但从整篇文章来看，作者一直不断地说明DVR反而保护了电视产业。通过最后一段也可以看出，作者认为新技术的出现不会对电视产业构成实质性的威胁，所以作者对电视产业的前景还是持乐观态度的。





参考译文


十年前的这一周，在拉斯维加斯举办的广播会展上展示了一个黑盒子。这就是TiVo数字录像机（简称DVR），它价格昂贵，最便宜的型号都标价499美元。但它却被誉为一项革命性的发明。DVR比卡带录像机更加灵活，更易于编制视频。人们用DVR就可以一边录像一边回放，所以人们可以在节目开始20分钟后观看，并且快进跳过所有广告。专家预言DVR将严重甚至致命打击靠广告支持的电视产业。但结果DVR并没有造成什么损害。事实上，DVR甚至可能保护了电视产业并使之更加保守。

随着价格下降以及有线电视和卫星广播公司开始把DVR和其他服务捆绑销售，DVR的普及程度直线上升。媒体研究机构Nielsen的数据显示，现在29%的美国家庭拥有DVR。在广告商最关注的那些美国家庭中，DVR的比例更高。来自有线电视公司Turner广播公司的杰克·瓦克施莱格估计，拥有DVR的家庭的收入大约超出平均水平两万美元。然而那些家庭并没有像人们想象的那样频繁使用DVR。拥有DVR的家庭观看事先录好的节目的时间，大概占观看电视时间的15~20%，而且跳过了约3%的广告。DVR的用户看了更多的电视，从而减轻了广告损失。

科技使得人们有能力做某些事情，但这并不意味着他们就会去做那些事情，尤其是涉及电视这种让人变得懒惰的媒介时。而现在的人们确实越来越懒了。早期的用户经常使用DVR——这并不奇怪，因为这是他们花高价购买的。后来的用户就用得少多了（根据最近的研究，使用频率约降低了2/3）。另一家广播公司CBS的研究及策划组组长戴维·波特克认为，DVR对其电视网络的冲击也就到这种程度。

即使面对如此微小的威胁，广告商和电视广播公司也采取了应对措施。他们开发出了相对静态的广告，使得即使在快进中也能看到信息。他们把节目片段插在广告时段的中间。其中一个技巧，据TiVo的托德·荣格尔说“简直就是制胜之道”，就是使广告与节目相似——在某些情况下，出演广告的明星正是来自观众想收看的节目。

DVR不但没有掀起革命，从某些方面来说反而使电视产业更加稳固。除了现场直播，大体上来说最流行的节目被录制的频率最高。瓦克施莱格先生将DVR描述为“热门节目储藏机”。相比有线电视，DVR的回放功能对广播电视的推动作用最大。DVR使得推广新的电视节目变得更加困难，尤其是晚间10点档，这个时候人们可能正在回放晚上8点或9点录好的节目。

电视主管现在不那么紧张DVR的原因之一是他们有其他事情需要担心。Hulu和其他的流媒体网站变得越来越流行，给予了消费者极大的主导权，被认为威胁到了靠广告支持的电视产业。是不是听起来有点耳熟呢？





Unit 38


Soft Bank of Japan is making its biggest gamble yet: entering the American cellphone market. SoftBank's complex $20.1 billion deal to buy majority control of Sprint Nextel will unite Japan's fastest-growing cellphone service provider with one of the United States' most troubled. The idea is to provide Sprint with a stronger, deeper-pocketed partner that can help finance its network overhaul and, eventually, pursue additional mergers. But SoftBank, an Internet and communications company, is making a risky wager that it can break the dominance of Verizon and AT＆T in the United States the way it did a similar duopoly that long reigned over the Japanese market.

“SoftBank brings so much more to Sprint than money,”Daniel R. Hesse, Sprint's chief executive, said on an analyst call. “This investment provides the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of a leader in mobile Internet technology with a proven track record of challenging larger incumbent carriers.”Together, the two companies would have $80 billion in revenue and $18 billion in earnings before interest and taxes. And they would nearly double Sprint's customer base to 96 million, giving the company greater purchasing power. SoftBank's founder and chief executive, Masayoshi Son, was blunt in his goal: creating the biggest and fastest wireless network in the United States. It is the strategy his own company is pursuing in Japan, aimed at drawing in users of the latest smartphones. Sprint is only beginning to roll out its next-generation Long Term Evolution network, trailing Verizon Wireless and AT＆T. “U.S. citizens don't have this experience of high speed,”Mr. Son said on the analyst call. “We're going to bring that to the States.”

Shareholders in Sprint and SoftBank appeared less pleased by the transaction. Sprint's shares closed down slightly on Monday, at $5.69, while SoftBank's stock tumbled 5.3 percent, to 2,268 yen ($28.92）. While infusing Sprint with cash, the deal would slow SoftBank's efforts to repay its own hefty debt load, which stood at nearly $13 billion as of June 30. Mr. Son has said that he has already repaid much of the debt his company took on when it bought Vodafone's Japan arm in 2006 and has done it well ahead of schedule.

The deal on Monday was a welcome development for the financial advisers involved in a year starved for deal activity. If completed, Monday's transaction would be the biggest deal by a Japanese company in the United States in more than three decades, according to data from Thomson Reuters. It would also be the biggest deal so far this year involving a foreign investment in an American company.

注（1）：本文选自The New York Times;

注（2）：本文习题模仿对象：本文习题的第1、2、5题模仿2011年真题Text 1 的第1、4、5题，第3、4题模仿2011年真题Text 2 的第3、4题。

1. We can learn from Para. 1 that entering the American cellphone market, Softbank has______.

A) incurred criticism

B) raised suspicion

C) faced risks

D) aroused curiosity

2. What can't Sprint benefit from Softbanks?

A) Much money and more customers.

B) Knowledge and expertise.

C) Greater purchasing power.

D) Biggest and fastest wireless network in the United States.

3. The word “tumble”（Line 2, Paragraph 3) most probably means______.

A) decrease

B) increase

C) reach

D) keep

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that______.

A) the deal was a welcome development

B) the transaction was the biggest deal in more than three decades

C) it would be the biggest deal so far

D) the transaction features in historic significance

5. From the text we can see that the writer seems______.

A) positive

B) negative

C) uncertain

D) neutral





篇章剖析


本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍日本软银进军美国手机市场的情况。文章第一段首先讲述了日本风险投资公司做了最大的赌注：进入美国手机市场；第二段说明了软银带给Sprint的诸多益处；第三段介绍了软银股票下跌致使股东不满；最后一段总结软银购买Sprint股票对美国来说意义非凡。





词汇注释


overhaul /ˌəuvəˈhɔːl/ n. 全面修改v. 彻底检修

wager /ˈweɪdʒə(r)/ n. 赌博 v. 打赌

duopoly /djuːˈɒpəli/ n. 两强垄断市场

incumbent /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/ adj. 现任的，在职的

blunt /blʌnt/ adj. 直率的；不锋利的，生硬的

tumble /ˈtʌmbl/ v. 暴跌；跌倒，摔倒

infuse /ɪnˈfjuːz/ v. 灌输；使获得

hefty /ˈhefti/ adj. 大量的；强壮的，肌肉发达的





难句突破


But SoftBank, an Internet and communications company, is making a risky wager that it can break the dominance of Verizon and AT＆T in the United States the way it did a similar duopoly that long reigned over the Japanese market.

主体句式：But SoftBank is making a wager…

结构分析：这个长句看上去结构复杂，其实主句非常短。 an Internet and communications company作同位语补充说明SoftBank，后接一个包含两个that的长句。前一个that是一个典型的同位语从句的引导词，用来具体说明日本软银正在进行什么样的赌博，it代替句首的SoftBank；后一个 that则是定语从句的引导词，先行词是duopoly。

句子译文：但对于软银这样一家网络通讯公司而言，试图打破威瑞森电信和AT＆T在美国通讯市场上两强垄断的局面如同一次危险的赌博，这种两强垄断的局面正如它们过去长期对日本无线通讯市场的垄断一样。





题目分析


1. C 推断题。作者在第一段中开门见山地说SoftBank of Japan is making its biggest gamble yet: entering the American cellphone market. 还有后面的But SoftBank…is making a risky wager that…从这两处可以得知，软银进入美国市场是存在很多不确定性的，是在冒险下赌注，只有C项符合原文。其余三项并未在文中体现。

2. D 细节题。 A、B和C选项皆在文中有直接体现，而D选项则是软银在美国市场的战略目标，与题意不符。

3. A 语义题。根据原文Sprint's shares closed down slightly…while…可知此句中while是个关键词，表示对比，前面说的是Sprint股价稍有下降，以5.69美元收盘，而软银的股价却…2268日元，以此可以推断出股价是降低了，跌了。

4. D 推断题。A、B和C均是说这笔交易的重大意义，由这三方面作为论据推断出这笔交易有历史重要性，故本题选D。

5. D 情感态度题。本文是一篇经济类文章，旨在陈述经济现象，因此作者持中立态度。





参考译文


日本风险投资公司——软银集团正在进行一场迄今为止最大的赌博：进入美国手机市场。软银以201亿的价格购买了美国无线运营商Sprint Nextel的大部分股权，这项举措成为日本发展最快的手机服务供应商和美国问题最多的运营商的一次联姻。这样做是想使Sprint获得一个财力更加雄厚的合作伙伴，资助其进行一次彻底的网络检修并最终寻得另外的合并公司。但对于软银这样一家网络通讯公司而言，试图打破威瑞森电信和AT＆T在美国通讯市场上两强垄断的局面如同一次危险的赌博，这种两强垄断的局面正如它们过去长期对日本无线通讯市场的垄断一样。

“软银带给Sprint的远不止资金。”Sprint的CEO丹尼尔·R.赫西在一次分析电话中称：“这项投资还使Sprint有机会从一个电话网络技术领头羊身上学到专业知识，而这一电话网络领头羊曾成功地挑战了比自己更大的运营商。”Sprint和软银在扣除利息和税费之前总共会有800亿美元的销售总额和180亿美元的收入。它们几乎使Sprint的消费者基数翻倍至9600万，同时赋予Sprint更强的购买力。软银的创始人兼CEO孙正义对其目的直言不讳：在美国建立最大、最快速的无线网络。这是他的公司在日本一直追求的战略目标，旨在吸引最新智能手机的用户首选其移动网络。Sprint只是刚开始推广它的新一代长期演进网络，紧跟威瑞森电信和AT＆T的步伐。孙先生在分析电话中说：“美国公民还从未体验过这么高速的网络，我们将会把它引进美国。”

然而Sprint和软银的股东对这一事态似乎并不那么满意。周一，Sprint清盘时的股价稍有下降，以5.69美元收盘，而软银的股价却跌至2268日元，约合28.92美元，下跌了5.3%。软银在注资Sprint的同时，降低了自身偿还高额债款的能力，6月30日，软银还欠约130亿美元的外债。孙先生说，他其实已经还了2006年购买沃达丰日本分支时所欠下的绝大部分债务了，并且这部分债务的偿还比原计划早很多。

这笔周一进行的交易（软银购买Sprint股票）对于牵涉其中的财务顾问们来说再好不过了，他们已经期盼这类交易一年了。根据汤姆森路透社的资料，这笔交易如果能够完成，将是三十多年来日资企业在美国进行的最大一次投资，同时也是今年为止美国公司融得的最大一笔外资。





Unit 39


The United Nations, notorious for endless deliberations, ①is trying a technological quick fix. Its Global Compact Office, which promotes corporate responsibility, has embraced a once marginal social technology——the wiki——in the hope that it will help staff in 80 countries share information and reach consensus with less deliberation and more speed. The office has done this by enlisting the public in its review of progress reports from more than 2,000 companies——an effort to make sure each is complying with established social and environmental guidelines. It's debatable whether encouraging public input is a good way to increase efficiency, but the move is the latest example of a quickly growing trend.

②Wiki software——easy-to-use programs that let anyone with Internet access create, remove and edit content on a Web page——first gained popularity thanks to Wikipedia, the user-generated encyclopedia that has come to be praised as one of the Web's greatest resources. Now the technology is increasingly spreading outside the world of bizarre tech people and into the mainstream, being adopted by workplaces, corporations and even governments. In what's been called the “wiki workplace,”a growing number of organizations have begun shifting from traditional hierarchical structures to self-organized and collaborative networks, using wiki software——a basket of technologies that include wikis, blogs and other tools——to foster innovation across organizational and geographic boundaries. Executives say the new tools make it easier for teams to collaborate and share information, and to get projects up and running on the fly. “Collaborative software has become a very important part of how businesses will invent and innovate,”says Ken Bisconti, IBM's vice president of messaging and collaboration software.

That the United Nations is embracing wikis is an indication that organizations are beginning to get over their fear that this technology could introduce chaos into their operations. As Wikipedia has demonstrated, Web sites that are open to the public are vulnerable to deliberate injury, bias, inconsistency and other problems. But most corporate wikis are closed to the public, limiting access to employees inside the company firewall. These quasi-closed systems, say technology experts, impose accountability simply by keeping a record of every change and who made it.

IBM has used internal wikis since 2005, with an eye to selling the concept to its clients. One of its first applications was a wiki that employees could use to collaborate on writing a blogging manifesto: a set of policies for appropriate use of blogs in and out of the office. Thousands of employees contributed and edited that manifesto, which after receiving corporate approval——became the company's official policy.

注（1）：本文选自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1~3题分别模仿2001年真题Text 3第1~3题，第4、5题模仿2004年真题Text 1第4、5题。

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A) It is about how the United Nations is forced to adopt the wiki software to improve efficiency.

B) It is an introduction to the wiki technology and its growing trend.

C) It reviews the advantages and disadvantages of wiki technology.

D) It is about the immaturity of the wiki technology and its future development.

2. The application of the wiki technology turns out to be_______.

A) very reliable

B) rather superficial

C) somewhat contradictory

D) quite encouraging

3. The basic problem of applying wiki technology lies in that_______.

A) some people doubt it is a communist plot

B) the technology is still not mature enough to be used widely

C) there might be purposeful injury and damage from the public

D) the technology can only be used internally

4. Which of the following is NOT the advantage of wiki technology?

A) It is a safe technology when being applied both externally and internally.

B) The public can participate in the creation of web contents.

C) It can enhance communication at least within an organization.

D) It helps promote innovation and improve work efficiency.

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A) UN has gained positive results by using wiki technology.

B) IBM's adoption of wikis turns out to be a failure.

C) Wiki software is changing some corporate network structure.

D) Wiki websites will replace conventional websites.





篇章剖析


本文是一篇介绍维客技术的说明文。第一段先通过一个实例——联合国采用了一项新技术——来引出话题。第二段具体介绍了什么是维客技术，该技术的优势及发展趋势等。第三、四段则进一步通过组织机构和公司对于维客技术的使用来说明该技术的实用性。





词汇注释


marginal /ˈmɑːdʒɪnəl/ adj. 边缘的，边际的

consensus /kənˈsensəs/ n. 一致同意

enlist /ɪnˈlɪst/ v. 征召；谋取（支持、赞助等）

comply /kəmˈplai/ vi. 遵守，答应，顺从

bizarre /bɪˈzɑː/ adj. 奇异的，古怪的

hierarchical /ˌhaɪəˈrɑːkɪkəl/ adj. 分等级的

foster /ˈfɒstə/ vt. 培养，鼓励；养育，抚育

chaos /ˈkeɪɔs/ n. 混乱，混沌

vulnerable /ˈvʌlnərəbl/ adj. 易受攻击的

quasi- /ˈkwɑːzi/ 类似；准；半

impose /ɪmˈpəuz/ vt. 强加；以…欺骗





难句突破


① Its Global Compact Office, which promotes corporate responsibility, has embraced a once marginal social technology——the wiki——in the hope that it will help staff in 80 countries share information and reach consensus with less deliberation and more speed.