1、2014年 6月英语四级阅读段落匹配题真题及答案The End of the Book?By John Steele GordonA). Amazon, by far the largest bookseller in the country, reported on May 19 that it is now selling more books in its electronic Kindle format than in the old paper-and-ink format. That is remarkable, considering that the Kindle has on
2、ly been around for four years. E-books now account for 14 percent of all book sales in this country and are increasing far faster than overall book sales. E-book sales are up 146 percent over last year, while hardback sales increased 6 percent and paperbacks decreased 8 percent.B). Does this spell t
3、he doom of the physical book? Certainly not immediately, and perhaps not at all. What it does mean is that the book business will go through a transformation in the next decade or so more profound than any it has seen since Gutenberg introduced printing from moveable type in the 1450s.C). Physical b
4、ooks will surely become much rarer in the marketplace. Mass market paperbacks, which have been declining for years anyway, will probably disappear, as will hardbacks for mysteries, thrillers, “romance fiction,“ etc. Such books, which only rarely end up in permanent collections either private or publ
5、ic, will probably only be available as e-books within a few years. Hardback and trade paperbacks for “serious“ nonfiction and fiction will surely last longer. Perhaps it will become the mark of an author to reckon with that he or she is still published in hard copy.D). As for childrens books, who kn
6、ows? Childrens books are like dog food in that the purchasers are not the consumers, so the market (and the marketing) is inherently strange.E). For clues to the books future, lets look at some examples of technological change and see what happened to the old technology.F). One technology replaces a
7、nother only because the new technology is better, cheaper, or both. Thee greater the differential, the sooner and more thoroughly the new technology replaces the old. Printing with moveable type on paper reduced the cost of producing a book by orders of magnitude compared with the old-fashioned ones
8、 handwritten on vellum, which comes from sheepskin. A Bibleto be sure, a long bookrequired vellum made from 300 sheepskins and untold man-hours of scribe labor. Before printing arrived, a Bible cost more than a middle-class house. There were perhaps 50,000 books in all of Europe in 1450. By 1500 the
9、re were 10 million.G). But while printing quickly caused the handwritten book to go extinct, handwriting lingered on well into the 16th century in the practice of “rubricating“ books, or hand drawing elaborate initial letters (often in red ink, hence the term). Very special books are still occasiona
10、lly produced on vellum, but they are one-of-a-kind show pieces.H). Sometimes a new technology doesnt drive the old one extinct, but only parts of it while forcing the rest to evolve. The movies were widely predicted to drive live theater out of the marketplace, but they didnt, because theater turned
11、 out to have qualities movies could not reproduce. Equally, TV was supposed to drive movies extinct but, again, did not.I). Movies did, however, fatally impact some parts of live theater, such as vaudeville. (Ironically, TV gave vaudeville a brief revival in the 1950s in such shows as “The Ed Sulliv
12、an Show” and brought many of the old vaudeville starsSophie Tucker, Jimmy Durante, Ben Blueout of retirement.) And while TV didnt kill movies, it did kill B pictures, shorts, and, alas, cartoons.J). Nor did TV kill radio. Comedy and drama shows (“Jack Benny,” “Amos and Andy,” “The Shadow”) all migra
13、ted to television. But because you cant drive a car and watch television at the same time, radio prime time became rush hour, while music, talk, and news radio greatly enlarged their audiences. Radio is today a very different business than in the late 1940s and a much larger one.K). Sometimes old te
14、chnology lingers for centuries because of its symbolic power. Mounted cavalry replaced the chariot on the battlefield around 1000 BC. But chariots maintained their place in parades and triumphs right up until the end of the Roman Empire 1,500 years later. The sword hasnt had a military function for
15、a hundred years, but is still part of an officers full-dress uniform, precisely because a sword always symbolized “an officer and a gentleman.“L). Sometimes new technology is a little cranky at first. Television repairman was a common occupation in the 1950s, for instance. And so the old technology
16、remains as a back up. Steam captured the North Atlantic passenger business from sail in the 1840s because of its much greater speed. But steamships didnt lose their rigging and sails until the 1880s, because early marine engines had a nasty habit of breaking down. Until ships became large enough (an
17、d engines small enough) to mount two engines side by side, they needed to keep sails. (The high cost of steam and the lesser need for speed kept the majority of the worlds ocean freight moving by sail until the early years of the 20th century.)M). Then there is the fireplace. Central heating was ubi
18、quitous in upper- and middle-class homes by the second half of the 19th century. But functioning fireplaces remain to this day a powerful selling point in a house or apartment. I suspect the reason is a deeply ingrained, atavistic love of fire. Fire was one of the earliest major technological advanc
19、es for humankind, providing heat, protection, and cooked food (which is much easier to eat and digest). Human control of fire goes back far enough (over a million years) that evolution could have produced a genetic predisposition towards fire as a central aspect of a human habitation (just consider
20、the phrase “hearth and home“).N). Booksespecially books the average person could affordhavent been around long enough to produce evolutionary change in humans. But they have a powerful hold on many people nonetheless, a hold extending far beyond their literary content. At their best, they are works
21、of art and there is a tactile pleasure in books necessarily lost in e-book versions. The ability to quickly flip through pages is also lost. And a room with books in it induces, at least in some, a feeling not dissimilar to that of a fire in the fireplace on a cold winters night.O). For these reason
22、s I think physical books will have a longer existence as a commercial product than some currently predict. Like swords, books have symbolic power. Like fireplaces, they induce a sense of comfort and warmth. And, perhaps, similar to sails, they make a useful backup for when the lights go out.46. Auth
23、ors still published in printed versions will be considered important ones.答案：D解析：对应 D段末句。printed versions(纸质版本)对应 hard copy(印刷版本)，be considered important ones(被认为重要)对应 become the markto reckon(认为是标志)。47. Some people are still in favor of printed books because of the sense of touch they can provide.答
24、案：N解析：对应 N段第三句提到的 tactile pleasure in books(书本的触觉上的愉悦)。48. The radio business has changed greatly and now attracts more listeners.答案：J解析：对应 J段最后两句。changed greatly(巨大改变)对应a very different business(相当不同的行业)，attracts more listeners(吸引更多听众)对应 enlarged their audience(扩大受众面)。49. Contrary to many peoples p
25、rediction of its death, the film industry survived.答案：H解析：对应 H段第二句。many peoples prediction 对应 widely predicted。50. Remarkable changes have taken place in the book business.答案：A解析：这是对 A段所描述的电子书在近几年内大幅增长的现象的概括。51. Old technology sometimes continues to exist because of its reliability.答案：L解析：对应 L段第三句。c
26、ontinues to exist(继续存在)对应remain(保持)，reliability(可靠)对应 backup(支持、后盾)。52. The increase of e-book sales will force the book business to make changes not seen for centuries.答案：B解析：对应 B段第三句。make changes(做出改变)对应 go through a transformation(经历转变)，not seen for centuries 是对该句后部分时间表达的概括。53. A new technology i
27、s unlikely to take the place of an old one without a clear advantage.答案：F解析：对应 F段第一句。a clear advantage(明显优势)岁对better, cheaper or both的概括。take the place of(代替)对应 replace(代替)。54. Paperbacks of popular literature are more likely to be replaced by e-books.答案：C解析：完全对应 C段第二句。55. A house with a fireplace has a stronger appeal to buyers.答案：M解析：对应 M段第三句。has a stronger appeal to buyers(对购买者有很强吸引力)对应 a powerful selling point(强劲卖点)。
