Question

　　Larry King: I'm having this conversation with you on a computer, and I'm wondering if e-mail is going to replace the post office in the future.

　　Bill Gates: E-mail won't replace the post office, but it will replace a lot of paper the post office carry around today.

　　King: Tell me how a computer will be used in the average home thirty years from now.

　　Gates: You'll have lots of thin flat screens covering the walls of your house and you'll carry a hand-held device（装置）around with you. The screens will feed whatever visual information you want--live video from a place in the world you like, an art reproduction（复制品）.

　　King: What happens when the power goes out?

　　Gates: We're very dependent today on electricity and we still will be in years. If there's a power failure, you won't get much work done, although battery technology will improve enough that short power failures won't necessarily shut down all of your computers.

　　King: Are we going to get television and news and entertainment from the Internet rather than from cable TV in the house?

　　Gates: News and entertainment will be delivered from the Internet to cable television and telephone connection in our homes. We'll access（存取）this information using a variety of devices, some of which will be like today's televisions.

　　King: Will a person be able to work in the future without having any computer skills?

　　Gates: There will still be jobs for people without computer skills, but a smaller percentage than exist today. The amount of the workforce that lacks computer skills will decrease as people not having those skills get retrained or retire. Most young people have computer skills or at least an enthusiasm（热心）to get them.

　　King: Describe an office in the future. Tele-phone? Fax machine? Conference room? Will there be an office building?

　　Gates: The key element of the office of the future is that it will have lots of flat screens, just like your house will. And these screens are going to be everywhere once they get thin enough, cheap enough, and high enough in quality. You'll carry around a lightweight screen the way you carry a wallet or cell phone or newspaper today.

(1) The main topic talked about is ________.

[　　]

A．changes in the office in the future

B．changes to be caused by computers in the future

C．life in the future

D．the importance of electricity in the future

(2) What's the main change in the post office in the future?

[　　]

A．The post office will disappear because of the use of E-mail.

B．All letters will disappear.

C．The post office will deliver much less paper.

D．The post office will use E-mail to send letters.

(3) The most important thing Gates thinks is“________”.

[　　]

A．Computer

B．E-mail

C．Battery

D．Electricity

(4) The same change at home and in the office in the future is that ________.

[　　]

A．many flat screens will be used

B．many computers will be used

C．people in them must master computer skills

D．News and entertainment will be delivered by cable TV

Answer 1

答案：B;C;D;A
解析：

(1) B；概括题。记者采访盖茨，主要话题是电脑对将来生活带来的变化。 (2) C；电子邮件不能取代邮局，但邮局可减少大量的纸制品的搬运。由文中it will replace a lot of paper the post office carry around today得出。 (3) D；盖茨认为尽管将来电池会有较大改进，但如果没有电人们几乎什么也干不了。由文中If there's a power failure，you won't get much work done得出。 (4) A；将来家庭和办公室都会出现大量的扁的电子屏幕，由倒数第一段“is that it will have lots of flat screens, just like your house will”。