2014年6月英语四级阅读段落匹配题真题及答案

2014年6月英语四级阅读段落匹配题真题及答案TheEndoftheBook?ByJohnSteeleGordonA).Amazon,byfarthelargestbooksellerinthecountry,reportedonMay19thatitisnowsellingmorebooksinitselectronicKindleformatthanintheoldpaper-and-inkformat.Thatisremarkable,consideringthattheKindlehasonlybeenaroundforfouryears.E-booksnowaccountfor14percentofallbooksalesinthiscountryandareincreasingfarfasterthanoverallbooksales.E-booksalesareup146percentoverlastyear,whilehardbacksalesincreased6percentandpaperbacksdecreased8percent.B).Doesthisspellthedoomofthephysicalbook?Certainlynotimmediately,andperhapsnotatall.WhatitdoesmeanisthatthebookbusinesswillgothroughatransformationinthenextdecadeorsomoreprofoundthananyithasseensinceGutenbergintroducedprintingfrommoveabletypeinthe1450s.C).Physicalbookswillsurelybecomemuchrarerinthemarketplace.Massmarketpaperbacks,whichhavebeendecliningforyearsanyway,willprobablydisappear,aswillhardbacksformysteries,thrillers,romancefiction,etc.Suchbooks,whichonlyrarelyendupinpermanentcollectionseitherprivateorpublic,willprobablyonlybeavailablease-bookswithinafewyears.Hardbackandtradepaperbacksforseriousnonfictionandfictionwillsurelylastlonger.Perhapsitwillbecomethemarkofanauthortoreckonwiththatheorsheisstillpublishedinhardcopy.D).Asforchildren'sbooks,whoknows?Children'sbooksarelikedogfoodinthatthepurchasersarenottheconsumers,sothemarket(andthemarketing)isinherentlystrange.E).Forcluestothebook’sfuture,let’slookatsomeexamplesoftechnologicalchangeandseewhathappenedtotheoldtechnology.F).Onetechnologyreplacesanotheronlybecausethenewtechnologyisbetter,cheaper,orboth.Theegreaterthedifferential,thesoonerandmorethoroughlythenewtechnologyreplacestheold.Printingwithmoveabletypeonpaperreducedthecostofproducingabookbyordersofmagnitudecomparedwiththeold-fashionedoneshandwrittenonvellum,whichcomesfromsheepskin.ABible—tobesure,alongbook—requiredvellummadefrom300sheepskinsanduntoldman-hoursofscribelabor.Beforeprintingarrived,aBiblecostmorethanamiddle-classhouse.Therewereperhaps50,000booksinallofEuropein1450.By1500therewere10million.G).Butwhileprintingquicklycausedthehandwrittenbooktogoextinct,handwritinglingeredonwellintothe16thcenturyinthepracticeofrubricatingbooks,orhanddrawingelaborateinitialletters(ofteninredink,hencetheterm).Veryspecialbooksarestilloccasionallyproducedonvellum,buttheyareone-of-a-kindshowpieces.H).Sometimesanewtechnologydoesn'tdrivetheoldoneextinct,butonlypartsofitwhileforcingtheresttoevolve.Themovieswerewidelypredictedtodrivelivetheateroutofthemarketplace,buttheydidn't,becausetheaterturnedouttohavequalitiesmoviescouldnotreproduce.Equally,TVwassupposedtodrivemoviesextinctbut,again,didnot.I).Moviesdid,however,fatallyimpactsomepartsoflivetheater,suchasvaudeville.(Ironically,TVgavevaudevilleabriefrevivalinthe1950sinsuchshowsas“TheEdSullivanShow”andbroughtmanyoftheoldvaudevillestars—SophieTucker,JimmyDurante,BenBlue—outofretirement.)AndwhileTVdidn'tkillmovies,itdidkillBpictures,shorts,and,alas,cartoons.J).NordidTVkillradio.Comedyanddramashows(“JackBenny,”“AmosandAndy,”“TheShadow”)allmigratedtotelevision.Butbecauseyoucan’tdriveacarandwatchtelevisionatthesametime,radioprimetimebecamerushhour,whilemusic,talk,andnewsradiogreatlyenlargedtheiraudiences.Radioistodayaverydifferentbusinessthaninthelate1940sandamuchlargerone.K).Sometimesoldtechnologylingersforcenturiesbecauseofitssymbolicpower.Mountedcavalryreplacedthechariotonthebattlefieldaround1000BC.ButchariotsmaintainedtheirplaceinparadesandtriumphsrightupuntiltheendoftheRomanEmpire1,500yearslater.Theswordhasn'thadamilitaryfunctionforahundredyears,butisstillpartofanofficer'sfull-dressuniform,preciselybecauseaswordalwayssymbolizedanofficerandagentleman.L).Sometimesnewtechnologyisalittlecrankyatfirst.Televisionrepairmanwasacommonoccupationinthe1950s,forinstance.Andsotheoldtechnologyremainsasabackup.SteamcapturedtheNorthAtlanticpassengerbusinessfromsailinthe1840sbecauseofitsmuchgreaterspeed.Butsteamshipsdidn'tlosetheirriggingandsailsuntilthe1880s,becauseearlymarineengineshadanastyhabitofbreakingdown.Untilshipsbecamelargeenough(andenginessmallenough)tomounttwoenginessidebyside,theyneededtokeepsails.(Thehighcostofsteamandthelesserneedforspeedkeptthemajorityoftheworld’soceanfreightmovingbysailuntiltheearlyyearsofthe20thcentury.)M).Thenthereisthefireplace.Centralheatingwasubiquitousinupper-andmiddle-classhomesbythesecondhalfofthe19thcentury.Butfunctioningfireplacesremaintothisdayapowerfulsellingpointinahouseorapartment.Isuspectthereasonisadeeplyingrained,atavisticloveoffire.Firewasoneoftheearliestmajortechnologicaladvancesforhumankind,providingheat,protection,andcookedfood(whichismucheasiertoeatanddigest).Humancontroloffiregoesbackfarenough(overamillionyears)thatevolutioncouldhaveproducedageneticpredispositiontowardsfireasacentralaspectofahumanhabitation(justconsiderthephrasehearthandhome).N).Books—especiallybookstheaveragepersoncouldafford—haven’tbeenaroundlongenoughtoproduceevolutionarychangeinhumans.Buttheyhaveapowerfulholdonmanypeoplenonetheless,aholdextendingfarbeyondtheirliterarycontent.A