C
Today, there’s hardly an aspect of our life that isn’t being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail. “If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology,” says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about $ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza.”
Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers. Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year. “We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity.”
You would be hard pressed to name something that isn’t available on the Internet. Consider: books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets. And even after you’ve moved on to your final resting place, there’s no reason those you love can’t keep in touch. A company called FinalThoughts.com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails” you can send to Heaven with the help of a “guardian angel”.
Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable(能预测的) future. Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet. Most kids use computers to play games (some for 30 hours or more a week), and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left.
What’s clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back. “The Internet is just 20% invented,” says cyber pioneer Jake Winebaum. “The last 80% is happening now.”
10. What can we learn from the Microsoft’s remark?
A. Today’s cars and airplanes are extremely overpriced.
B. Information technology is developing at an amazing speed.
C. Information technology has reached the point where improvement is difficult.
D. There’s more competition in information technology industry than in car industry.
11. According to the author, the biggest benefit of the Internet is that___.
A. it saves companies huge amounts of money
B. it speeds up profit making
C. it brings people incredible convenience
D. it provides easy access to information
12. The author gives the example of FinalThoughts.com to make the point that____.
A. there are some genius ideas on the Internet
B. almost anything is available on the Internet
C. people can find good bargains on the Internet
D. some websites provide novel services to increase hits
13. What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
A. There is a link between income and computer ownership.
B. Many American children don’t put computers to good use.
C. Studies show that boys are more computer literate than girls.
D. The U.S. will stay ahead in the information technology in years.
14. Which sentence has the phrase that possesses the same meaning as the one underlined in the fifth paragraph?
A. Some can tell you that he has changed their lives, while others think nothing of him.
B. Think nothing of it. It was my pleasure.
C. He thinks nothing of staying up all night in the Café bar.
D. He thinks nothing of the pain in his back for the moment.
15. What is the message the author intends to convey?
A. The Internet is going to get firm hold of our lives some day.
B. The Internet is going to influence our lives even more greatly.
C. We should have a positive attitude towards the changes the Internet brings.
D. Children should be well prepared for the challenges in the information age.
