While governments argue over emissions cuts，many firms have already started cleaning up their act，or at least preparing to do so—prompting more and more software firms to offer tools to help.

主体句式：Many firms have already started cleaning up their act...

结构分析：本句的主句中包含了以or连接的两个并列结构，说明两种不同状态。句首由while引导的状语从句主要是与后面的主句内容形成对比，也就是将政府和企业的行为进行对比。破折号之后的内容起补充说明的作用，也就是说明这些企业的行动对软件开发业产生了何种影响。

句子译文：当各国政府还在争论减排问题时，许多公司已经开始让自己更为环保，或者至少准备这么做，这也促使越来越多的软件公司提供相应的辅助工具。





题目分析


1．C 细节题。本文第一段主要介绍了Tesco公司力图通过使用软件来实现其减少碳排放量的计划，从第二段来看，文章主要通过这个例子引出话题，因此C是正确选项。

2．A 细节题。文章第二段指出“当各国政府还在争论减排问题时，许多公司已经开始让自己更为环保，或者至少准备这么做，这也促使越来越多的软件公司提供相应的辅助工具。”也就是说随着企业环保意识的增强，对相关软件的开发也变得越来越重要，所以软件公司纷纷进入这一市场。因此A最符合题意。B、C两项较容易排除。而D选项说“它会带来可观的收益”，看似正确，但文章中并未提到此含义，因此排除。

3．D 细节题。解答本题的主要依据是文章第三段的内容。该段第一句话指出“许多公司跟踪记录能源消耗量已经有一段时间了，为的是节约资金。”因此A正确。第三句话提到公众压力促使更多公司采取行动，因此B也正确；第二句话“还有些公司监控不同气体的排放情况，目的是遵守污染治理规定”，说明企业的做法部分也是为了履行其法律义务，因此C也正确；只有D的表述不正确。业界采取环保措施并不是为了“追随政府”，而且从文章第二段中可以看出，企业在这一方面已经走在了政府的前面。

4．B 语义题。文章最后一段指出“Oracle和SAP这两家已经主导多种商业软件的公司在这个领域也将会是佼佼者”，后面提到因为环保领域的软件与这些公司的offerings最契合，可以推测出这里的offerings指的就是这两家公司的产品，因此B是最佳答案。C和D选项虽然都提到了软件，但都不正确，因为这两家公司主导了商务软件市场，不是环保软件，也不仅仅限于CRM。

5．C 细节题。文章第六段提到，各大公司纷纷进军这一市场，还为此进行各种收购兼并，可见一场激烈的竞争即将展开，因此C正确。文章第五段提到，涉足环保软件的企业众多，却没有提到哪些企业目前占主导地位，因此A不正确。第六段提到，尽管今后的需求估计会越来越复杂，但目前大部分公司的需求都很简单，显然B也不正确。文中并未提到环保软件是否会变得与财务审计同等重要，因此D也不正确。





参考译文



世界最大的连锁超市之一——Tesco公司旗下4300家连锁店的经理的生活前景正在好转。他们使用大型软件公司CA开发的一种程序，一项枯燥的工作就可以变得非常简单：收集每家店的能源消耗数据，不论是用于照明、空调还是制冷。这种高效的数据收集是Tesco公司雄心勃勃的计划中的一部分。计划到2020年，公司现有商店和分销中心的温室气体排放量将减少一半。

Tesco和CA或许是先行者，但他们并不孤单。当各国政府还在争论减排问题时，许多公司已经开始让自己更为环保，或者至少准备这么做，这也促使越来越多的软件公司提供相应的辅助工具。如果乐观主义者的预期正确的话，“碳管理软件”市场有一天会发展到至少可以匹敌重要的商业应用软件的市场。后者中的例子是客户关系管理程序，去年的收益超过90亿美元。

许多公司跟踪记录能源消耗量已经有一段时间了，为的是节约资金。还有些公司监控不同气体的排放情况，目的是遵守污染治理规定。最近，公众压力促使更多公司记录排放量，并且将结果公布在年报中，或者呈交给“碳披露项目”等机构。但大部分公司使用的还是简单工具，如电子制表和数据库。

Verdantix咨询公司的老板戴维·梅特卡夫认为，尽管经济衰退，但上述情况却在改变。他提出，能源成本增加、绿色品牌推广以及新的规章制度，都促使更多的公司记录他们的排放量，而且使用专业软件来完成。例如，英国的《碳减量承诺》明年就会生效。除其他事项外，《承诺》规定年用电量超过600万千瓦时的公司要测算并报告其能源使用情况。

由于预计需求将猛增，软件制造商纷纷涌入市场，其中大部分提供基于网络的服务。据另一家咨询公司AMR Research近期的一项调查，这类软件供应商不少于157家。一些软件关注统计结果报告，另一些重在遵循相应法规，还有一些致力于优化商业流程。有的软件公司已涉足环保领域多年，例如Enviance 和IHS公司。还出现了一些新的创业公司，如Carbonetworks和Hara。甚至一些大型软件公司也进驻环保软件市场，如CA、IBM、Oracle、SAP和SAS等。

至少在目前，大部分公司的需求都很简单：确保数据收集的规律性和可审计性。但AMR公司的斯蒂芬·斯托克斯预计，几年后这种情况也会改变。届时公司将需要软件具有更多功能：自动收集数据、帮助找到最好的减排方法、管理其他资源如水资源和废弃物。梅特卡夫和斯托克斯先生都预计，Oracle和SAP这两家已经主导多种商业软件的公司在这个领域也将会是佼佼者，因为这与他们的其他软件产品非常契合。这些巨头也有财力购买最好的技术。五月份，SAP收购了一家新成立的公司Clear Standards。预计Oracle公司很快也会进行类似的收购。但他们也面对着坚定的对手。IHS公司已经在不声不响地收购一些销售环保软件的企业。一些人期待C3公司会有大动作，这家公司刚成立不久，创始人是客户关系管理软件的先行者汤姆·西贝尔。





第4章　科学研究类



Unit 46


In a Cairo school basement，two dozen women analyze facial expressions on laptops，training the computers to recognize anger，sadness and frustration．At Cambridge University，an eerily realistic robotic head named Charles sits in a driving simulator，furrowing its brows，looking interested or confused．And in a handful of American middle school classrooms this fall，computers will monitor students’ emotions in an effort to track when they are losing interest and when they are getting excited about lessons．All three are examples of an emerging approach to technology called affective computing，which aims to give computers the ability to read users’ emotions，or“affect.”

Yet until recently，our machines could not identify even seemingly simple emotions，like anger or frustration．The GPS device chirps happily even when the driver is ready to hurl it out the window．The online class keeps going even when half the students are lost in confusion．The airport security system can’t tell whether someone is behaving as if he were concealing something or is just anxious about flying.

Technology that masters these skills could also help people who struggle to read the emotions of others，like those on the autism spectrum，or provide companionship and encouragement for nursing home residents．Without a grasp of emotions，some researchers argue，computers will never reach their full potential to support people.

“Our digital world is for the most part devoid of rich ways of expressing our emotions,” said Rosalind Picard，director of the affective computing research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab．She has been working for more than two decades to translate emotions into 1's and 0’s，the language of machines．One early project，with a collaborator，Rana el Kaliouby，was to design glasses for people with Asperger syndrome，a mild variant of autism，that warned them when they were boring someone. People with Asperger's often fixate on particular topics and find it hard to read the social cues，like yawning，fidgeting and looking away，that indicate the listener is bored.

More recently，Dr．Picard and Dr．el Kaliouby have been developing software that maps 24 points on the face to intuit an emotion．In the past，computer algorithms have had trouble distinguishing among genuine smiles，smirks and the gritted teeth that come with frustration，Dr．el Kaliouby said，because they are often fleeting and result in only very small changes to the overall configuration of the face.


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题模仿2009年真题Text 2的第1题；第2、4题模仿2010年真题Text 2的第2、3题；第3、5题模仿2011年真题Text 3第2题、Text 1的第5题。



1．In paragraph 1，the text shows that ______.

A) women analyze facial expressions on computer in a Cairo school basement

B) computers will supervise students’ emotions to check their behavior in America

C) a robot siting in a driving simulator looks interested or confused

D) there emerges a new technology called affective computing

2．Which of the following is true?

A) The machines can tell simple personal moods.

B) The GPS doesn’t function，so the driver throws it out of the window.

C) The online class continues though 50% students can’t follow.

D) The airport security system can identify passengers’ personal thoughts.

3．According to the author，one of the distinctive functions of the technology is ______.

A) to help people understand others’ inner feelings

B) the residents in the nursing home feel encouraged and not isolated

C) computers can’t help people without catching the emotions

D) to endow people with rich ways to express their feelings

4．The phrase“Asperger syndrome” （Line 5，Paragraph 4）most probably means ______.

A) complicated feelings

B) various emotions

C) a kind of disease

D) symptom

5．From the text we can see that the writer seems ______.

A) positive

B) negative

C) uncertain

D) neutral





篇章剖析


本文是一篇科技说明文，介绍了利用计算机读取人类情绪的技术，也就是情感计算技术，其目的是为了赋予计算机读取用户情绪的能力。第一段首先介绍了人们在实验中想利用电脑读取人的情绪进而了解其内心世界，也即是所谓的情感计算技术；第二段点出这一技术之难，到目前为止仍然无法实施；第三、四段说明这一技术用途之广；最后一段讲述了这一技术的最新突破，即开发能判断人的情绪的软件。





词汇注释


eerily /ˈɪərɪli/ adv. 怪诞地，可怕地

furrow /ˈfʌrəʊ/ v. 使起皱纹

chirp /tʃɜːp/ v. 喳喳叫

autism /ˈɔːtɪzəm/ n. 孤僻症，自我中心主义

spectrum /ˈspektrəm/ n. 系列；范围；幅度

devoid /dɪˈvɒɪd/ adj. 缺乏的；全无的

Asperger syndrome 亚斯伯格综合征

fixate /ˈfɪkseɪt/ v. 注视

fidget /ˈfɪdʒɪt/ v. 烦躁，坐立不安

intuit /ɪnˈtjuːɪt/ v. 凭直觉感知

algorithm /ˈælgərɪðəm/ n. 运算法则

smirk /smɜːk / n. 傻笑，假笑

grit /grɪt/ v. 摩擦作声，研磨

configuration /kənˌfɪɡjəˈreɪʃn/ n. 结构；外形；配置





难句突破


One early project，with a collaborator，Rana el Kaliouby，was to design glasses for people with Asperger syndrome，a mild variant of autism，that warned them when they were boring someone.

主体句式：One early project was to design glasses for people...

结构分析：这个长句看上去结构复杂，其实主句非常短。with a collaborator，Pana el Kaliouby作后置定语修饰project，进一步说明是和谁一起做的研究。a mild variant autism 是Asperger syndrome的同位语，解释说明这种病症。紧接着是一个定语从句，先行词是glasses，用来进一步解释说明这种眼镜的用途。

句子译文：在早期的一项研究中，她与合伙人拉娜·埃尔·卡利欧比共同为亚斯伯格综合征患者设计了一款眼镜，这种综合征是孤独症的一种较轻的症状，戴这种眼镜就可以提醒综合征患者他们何时已经使别人感到厌烦了。





题目分析


1．D 推断题。作者在第一段中以3个例子作为文章的开始，指出“情感计算”这一新科技。A、B、C分别是作者列举的3个实例，用于引出“情感计算”这一科技的出现。

2．C 细节题。原文的对应信息是The online class keeps going even when half the students are lost in confusion．其他选项的信息内容皆与原文意思不符。

3．B 细节题。原文的对应信息是provide companionship and encouragement for nursing home residents，意为：给予养老院的人鼓励并陪伴他们，使他们不觉得被孤立。A、C和D选项并不是在说这一科技的显著功能，与题意不符。

4．C 语义题。我们从文中该词组的同位语a mild variant of autism可知这是一种疾病，是自闭症的一种变体。

5．D 情感态度题。本文是一篇科技说明文，旨在陈述科技事实，因此作者持中立态度。





参考译文



在开罗一所学校的地下室里，20多名女性通过笔记本电脑来分析面部表情，训练计算机识别人类的愤怒、悲伤和沮丧。在剑桥大学，有一个怪诞、逼真、名叫查尔斯的机器人坐在驾驶模拟器上，紧锁双眉，看起来时而兴致冲冲，时而疑虑重重。今年秋天，在美国少数几个中学教室里，将会安装一些计算机，以追踪监控学生们的情绪，看他们什么时候对授课内容感兴趣，什么时候不感兴趣。以上三个例子都是一种新兴的科学技术——情感计算技术的例子，其目的是为了赋予计算机读取或者“影响”用户情绪的能力。

但到目前为止，我们的机器甚至还无法识别像愤怒或者沮丧这些看上去简单的情绪。即使是司机把GPS扔到窗外的心都有了，它还仍然愉快地进行着导航。即使有一半学生已经困惑不已，在线课堂却仍在继续。机场安全系统也还无法分辨出一些人究竟是在隐藏什么非法勾当还是只是着急赶飞机。

掌握了这些技能的科技也能够帮助那些不善于识别他人的情绪的人，比如自闭症患者，或者给予养老院里的人以陪伴和鼓励。一些研究人员认为，不理解情绪，电脑将永远不会充分发挥它们帮助人类的潜力。

麻省理工学院媒体实验室情感计算研究组主任罗莎琳德·皮卡德说：“我们这个数字化世界最缺乏的就是表达我们情绪的丰富多样的方式。”在逾20年的研究中，皮卡德一直在探索如何将情绪翻译为由1和0组成的计算机语言。在早期的一项研究中，她与合伙人拉娜·埃尔·卡利欧比共同为亚斯伯格综合征患者设计了一款眼镜，这种综合征是孤独症的一种较轻的症状，戴这种眼镜就可以提醒综合征患者他们何时已经使别人感到厌烦了。患这种病症的人在谈论某个话题时会滔滔不绝，而且很难明白社交暗示，比如倾听者已经开始打呵欠，坐立不安并且转移视线，这些意味着倾听者已经厌倦了。

最近，皮卡德博士和埃尔·卡利欧比博士一直在开发通过定位脸上24个点来判断一个人的情绪的软件。过去，计算机程序一直很难区别人们相似的面部动作，比如真实的微笑、假笑，以及因为挫折而表现出的咬牙切齿。埃尔·卡利欧比博士说，因为它们往往是转瞬即逝的，而且给整个面部结构仅带来非常微小的变化。





Unit 47


Usually alternating current（AC）transmission suffers lower losses than direct current（DC），and thus，AC became the industry standard．Some people，however，question that standard because over long distances high-voltage DC lines suffer lower losses than AC．Not only does that make them better in their own right，but employing them would allow electricity grids to be restructured in ways that would make wind power more attractive. That would reduce the need for new conventional（and polluting）power stations.

Wind power has some problems．You don’t always get it where you want it and you don’t always get it when you want it．The question of where the wind is blowing would no longer matter because it is almost always blowing somewhere．If it were windy in Spain but not in Ireland，current would flow in one direction．Dealing with when the wind blows is a subtler issue．For instance，an important part of Dr Schmid's continental grid is the branch to Norway．It is not that Norway is a huge consumer．Rather，the country is well supplied with hydroelectric plants．These are one of the few ways that energy from transient sources like the wind can be stored in grid-filling quantities．The power is used to pump water up into the reservoirs that feed the hydroelectric turbines．That way it is on tap when needed．The capacity of Norway's reservoirs is so large，according to Dr Schmid，that should the wind drop all over Europe—which does happen on rare occasions—the hydro plants could spring into action and fill in the gap for up to four weeks.

Put like this，a Europe-wide grid seems an obvious idea．That it has not yet been built is because AC power lines would lose too much power over such large distances．Hence the renewed interest in DC．Dr Schmid calculates that a DC grid of the sort he envisages would allow wind to supply at least 30% of the power needed in Europe．Moreover，it could do so reliably—and that means wind power could be used for what is known in the jargon as base-load power supply.

Though wind power has its opponents，too，its environmental virtues might be enough to swing things in its favour if it were also reliable．Indeed，a group of Norwegian companies have already started building high-voltage DC lines between Scandinavia，the Netherlands and Germany，though these are intended as much to sell the country's power as to accumulate other people’s．And Airtricity—an Irish wind-power company—plans even more of them．It proposes what it calls a Supergrid．This would link offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish，North and Baltic seas with customers throughout northern Europe.


注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 3。



1．By saying“make them better in their own right” （Lines 3～4，Paragraph 1），the author means to _______.

A) realize the right of DC

B) make DC suffer lower losses

C) make DC more useful than AC

D) make better use of DC to transfer power

2．By saying“Dealing with when the wind blows is a subtler issue” （Line 4，Paragraph 2），the author actually implies that _______.

A) it is more difficult to predict the time when the wind blows

B) it is more intricate to deal with the wind since it is always transient

C) it is more complex to control the wind in the temporal sense

D) it is more complicated to utilize the wind power

3．How will consumers think of a DC electricity grid?

A) Not feasible yet.

B) Quite economical.

C) Somewhat troublesome.

D) Too bold.

4．Why is Dr Schmid's continental grid located in Norway?

A) To make use of the country's capacity of reservoirs so as to store temporary power.

B) To make use of the country's rich wind power so as to meet consumers’ demand.

C) To make better use of the country's rich hydroelectric power to supply other European countries.

D) It is simply Dr Schmid's personal preference of that country.

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

A) Wind power has won universal support.

B) Companies hesitate to invest in wind power.

C) The prospect of wind power so far seems very positive.

D) Wind farms on oceans can supply power demand of the whole Europe in the future.





篇章剖析


本文是一篇科技说明文，主要说明了风能发电的优势和可行性。第一段通过比较说明直流电和交流电来引出风能发电的话题；第二段分析了风能发电存在的一些限制及其解决办法；第三段和第四段则说明了在欧洲建设新型电网的前景。





词汇注释


alternating current 交流电

direct current 直流电