主体句式：...many of them also accuse the search firm of...

结构分析：本句开头是一个由although引导的让步状语从句，从句中包含了一个省略引导词that的定语从句they mint via adverts，修饰money，而之后的that run on Google and its YouTube video-streaming business又是修饰adverts的定语从句。后半个句子为主句，主语为many of them，谓语动词为accuse，基本结构是sb. accuse sb. of sth.。

句子译文：虽然媒体公司贪恋通过在Google及其拥有的YouTube流媒体业务上投放广告获得的收益，其中许多公司还是指责Google使其内容变得商品化，同时也减少了他们的利润，因为Google使得市场营销人员能轻易了解网络广告投入的成效。





题目分析


1. B 推理题。文章第一段中说“该公司一贯以提供低价甚至免费的服务而深受用户欢迎。但其经营战略却激怒了它的竞争者，他们抱怨这个新来的对手就是存心要把整个行业搞垮。”可知，商界和消费者对于Google的态度是截然不同的，因此B选项正确。A选项中“be blind to”意为“对…视而不见，无视”，但文中说媒体公司贪恋Google带来的收益，因此选项与文章表述不符。第三段中明确表示，书籍作者认为Google只是“替罪羊”，因此C项不正确。D选项意为“Google会破坏它所涉及的每一个行业”，由原文可知，这个观点已被作者批驳。

2. C 细节题。文章第三段提到“Google以盟友形象出现”，因此A不正确。1000亿美金的年收入是Google的目标，而不是目前的实际情况，因此B也不正确。文章第五段最后一句话指出三位Google的领导者最终找到了一种有效的合作关系，说明他们的合作并没有影响到公司的运营，所以D也不正确。第三段作者认为出版和电影业主管们应该为自己造成的错误负责，可见C是最符合原文的选项。

3. D 语义题。文章第二段提到“其中大多数还是指责Google使其内容变得商品化，同时也减少了他们的利润”。也就是说很多媒体公司都认为是Google导致了他们现在的困境。文中并没有出现表示优劣势对比（disadvantage）、竞争（competition）或两难境地（dilemma）的内容，因此从四个选项中看来只有D最符合文章的意思。“jinx”这个词的意思是“不祥物”。

4. A 推理题。文章第三段指出奥莱塔是一位媒体行业的资深评论人，又说他在书中“公正且正确地指出…”，可见他在书中的分析是客观而专业的，并没有偏袒Google，因此B和D都不正确，A是正确选项。此外，虽然文章最后一句话说“但如果Google一着出错，就有可能成为终结的导火索。”但这只是一个假设，该书作者并没有体现出对Google未来的悲观情绪，因此C选项也不正确。

5. A 情感态度题。从文章的选词和观点看来，作者对这本新书是持欣赏态度的。如第三段中的“squarely”，第四段中的“respectable”，以及第五段中的“compelling”等。第三段还指出“他驳斥了Google的编程奇才是给媒体业带来灾难的元凶的说法。事实上他公正且正确地指出，真正应该负责的是出版和电影业的主管们…”，很显然是赞同支持奥莱塔的观点。因此A是正确选项。





参考译文


Google有时看起来像是从未遇到过它不想涉足的行业。这家网络巨头最为人所知的是其广受欢迎的搜索引擎，它还把触角伸向了越来越多的领域，包括广告、电信以及最近涉足的数字导航软件。该公司一贯以提供低价甚至免费的服务而深受用户欢迎。但其经营战略却激怒了它的竞争者，他们抱怨这个新来的对手就是存心要把整个行业搞垮。

这种怨言在出版业和娱乐业尤甚。虽然媒体公司贪恋通过在Google及其拥有的YouTube流媒体业务上投放广告获得的收益，其中许多公司还是指责Google使其内容变得商品化，同时也减少了他们的利润，因为Google使得市场营销人员能轻易了解网络广告投入的成效。一家大媒体公司的老板对Google的联合创始人说：“你在糟蹋这种魔力。”这一幕令人印象深刻的场景被肯·奥莱塔记录在了新书的开头。

奥莱塔是美国记者，同时也是媒体行业的资深评论员，他驳斥了Google的编程奇才是给媒体业带来灾难的元凶的说法。事实上他公正且正确地指出，真正应该负责的是出版和电影业的主管们，他们没能正确意识到互联网将以怎样的速度消耗他们公司的未来。他们也太晚才发现，尽管Google以盟友形象出现，它却具有一个强敌的所有标志。现在这位友敌成为了替罪羊，媒体业将许多自己造成的错误归咎于它。

奥莱塔先生做了一项可敬的工作：回顾了媒体公司的困境。他还推演了Google文化中一些广为人知的要素，这些要素帮助Google从11年前在小车库中创办的小公司发展成为现在的大型企业，志在成为年收入1000亿美金的全球头号媒体公司。除其他方面以外，这些要素包括丰厚的认股权、免费餐和按摩等福利，以及严谨而有时怪异的招聘程序。

更吸引读者的是本书探究了Google三巨头之间的关系——布林、联合创始人拉里·佩奇，以及Google成立几年之后才加入的首席执行官埃里克·施密特。施密特进入Google是应支持该公司的风险投资者邀请，他发现自己要小心地维护两位才华洋溢却不善交际的创始人与急迫的投资人之间的敏感关系。在一位资深硅谷主管的指导帮助下，三人最终形成了一种有效的合作关系。

这是件好事，因为Google现在面临一些艰巨的挑战。快速发展的社交网如Facebook正在寻求更大数额的在线广告资金。而且Google的规模在一些领域已经开始引起了反垄断监督部门的注意，例如它希望一展宏图的电子书扫描领域。据我们所知，这几乎不能等同于Google统治地位的终结。但如果Google一着出错，就有可能成为终结的导火索。





Unit 37


Ten years ago this week a black box was demonstrated at a broadcasters’ convention in Las Vegas. TiVo’s digital video recorder（DVR）was expensive: the cheapest model cost $499. But it was hailed as revolutionary. It was much more flexible and easier to programme than a videocassette recorder. It allowed people to record and play back at the same time, so they could start watching a programme 20 minutes after it had started and fast-forward through all the advertisements. Experts forecast a severe, perhaps fatal, blow to advertising-supported television. Yet DVRs turn out to have done little damage. Indeed, DVRs may even have protected television and made it more conservative.

As prices fell and cable and satellite firms began to bundle DVRs with other services, their popularity soared. According to Nielsen, a media-research outfit, 29% of American homes now have one. The boxes are in a higher proportion of the households advertisers most care about. Jack Wakshlag of Turner Broadcasting, a cable company, calculates that DVR-owning households earn about $20,000 more than average. Yet those households do not use them nearly as much as one might expect. Families with DVRs seem to spend 15-20% of their viewing time watching pre-recorded shows, and skip only about half of all advertisements. This means only about 5% of television is time-shifted and less than 3% of all advertisements are skipped. Mitigating that loss, people with DVRs watch more television.

Just because technology enables people to do something does not mean they will, particularly when it comes to a medium as indolence-inducing as television. And people have become lazier. Early adopters of DVRs used them a lot—not surprisingly, since they paid so much for them. Later adopters use them much less（about two-thirds less, according to a recent study）. David Poltrack, head of research and planning at CBS, another broadcast network, reckons the networks have already felt most of the DVR’s effects.

Advertisers and television networks have pushed back even against this puny threat. They have developed relatively static advertisements that get a message across even at high speed. They put snippets of programming in the middle of ad breaks. 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.

Far from being revolutionary, in some ways DVR has made television more stable. With the exception of live events it is broadly true that the most popular programmes are recorded the most. Mr Wakshlag describes it as “a hit-saving machine”. Broadcast television receives a bigger boost from DVR playback than cable television. The device has made it harder to introduce a new television programme, particularly at 10pm when people are likely to be playing back shows they recorded at 8pm or 9pm.

One reason television executives have calmed down about DVRs is that they have something else to worry about. Hulu and other video-streaming websites, which are becoming more popular, give a great deal of control to consumers and are thought to pose a threat to advertising-supported television. Does that sound familiar?

注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1、4、5题分别模仿2002年真题Text 4第1题和Text 3第4、5题，第2题模仿2001年真题Text 2第2题，第3题模仿2004年真题Text 1第3题。



1. From the second paragraph we learn that ______.

A) the development of DVR is just like what was predicted

B) the households owning DVRs are relatively rich

C) DVR is frequently used by the households that advertisers most care about

D) owners of DVR use it to skip most of all advertisements

2. David Poltrack’s comment in paragraph three probably means that ______.

A) DVR’s influence on television is relatively small

B) people do not always make use of advantages brought by technology

C) technology sometimes make people become lazier

D) the networks survive thanks to the indolence of later DVR adopters

3. The phrase “silver bullet”（Line 4, Paragraph 4）most probably means ______.

A) a bullet made of silver

B) a method with much financial input

C) an economical approach

D) an extremely effective solution

4. In the last sentence of the article, the author implies that ______.

A) the result of fear about video-steaming website may turn out to be similar as that of DVR

B) video-streaming websites are posing a serious threat to television as DVR did

C) video-steaming websites give consumers much controlling power just as DVR did

D) television executive worry about video-steaming websites as they did about DVR

5. The author’s viewpoint towards the prospect of television industry seems to be ______.

A) critical

B) positive

C) biased

D) objective





篇章剖析


本文主要讲述了DVR对电视产业造成的影响。开篇讲述了DVR诞生之初被认为将带来电视产业的灭亡，最终结果却出乎预料：DVR影响甚微，有可能还保护了电视产业；第二、三段分析了此现象背后的种种原因，引用了若干研究调查的结果；第四段指出广告商和电视公司仍然针对DVR采取了一些策略；第五段进一步描述了DVR对电视产业的积极影响；最后一段则指出，电视产业正面临着新的挑战，但很可能也不会构成严重威胁。





词汇注释


convention /kənˈvenʃən/ n. 会议，大会

hail /heɪl/ v. 赞扬，称颂为…

videocassette /ˌvɪdɪəʊkəˈset/ n. 盒式录像带

conservative /kɜnˈsɜːvətɪv/ adj. 保守的，传统的

bundle /ˈbʌndl/ v. 捆，把…扎成一包

soar /sɔː/ v. 猛增，暴涨

indolence /ˈɪndələns/ n. 懒散，懒惰

puny /ˈpjuːni/ adj. 微小的，次要的

snippet /ˈsnɪpɪt/ n. 碎片，断片

resemble /rɪˈzembl/ v. 相似，类似





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


SoftBank 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 ______.