D
For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain. Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?
Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices. Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home. The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound.
The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity. The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size. Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages. And you can connect it to your PC to download books.
Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain. For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15.19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16.19.
The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music. So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, they like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging. You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves.
The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material. Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today.
68．What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The age of the electronic book reader is coming
B. Printed books are out of date
C. The Sony reader meets many readers’ needs
D. The revolution in book readers
69．According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________.
A. is as light as a laptop computer               B. can hold more than 200 books
C. is convenient to carry around                  D. cannot be connected to a PC
70．What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?
A. Amazon’s printed books are very cheap
B. “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon
C. The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use
D. The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot
71．According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?
A. They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines
B. They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers
C. They’ll become a must in people’s daily life
D. They’ll become more popular as time goes on

D

For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain. Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?

       Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices. Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home. The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound.

The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity. The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size. Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages. And you can connect it to your PC to download books.

Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain. For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15.19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16.19.

The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music. So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, they like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging. You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves.

The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material. Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today.

68．What would be the best title for the passage?

A. The age of the electronic book reader is coming

B. Printed books are out of date

C. The Sony reader meets many readers’ needs

D. The revolution in book readers

69．According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________.

A. is as light as a laptop computer               B. can hold more than 200 books

C. is convenient to carry around                  D. cannot be connected to a PC

70．What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?

A. Amazon’s printed books are very cheap

B. “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon

C. The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use

D. The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot

71．According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?

A. They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines

B. They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers

C. They’ll become a must in people’s daily life

D. They’ll become more popular as time goes on

（BBC）The "father of the personal computer" who kick-started the careers of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen has died at the age of 68．Dr Henry Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair 8800, a machine that led to the home computer age．

Gates and Allen contacted Dr Roberts after seeing the machine on the front cover of a magazine and offered to write software for it．The program was known as Altair-Basic, the foundation of Microsoft's business．"Ed was willing to take a chance on us - two young guys interested in computers , and we have always been thankful to him," the Microsoft founders said in a statement.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told technology website CNET that Dr Roberts had taken " a critically important step that led to everything we have today"．

Dr Roberts was the founder of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), originally set up to sell electronics parts to model rocket hobbyists．The company went on to sell electronic calculator parts, but was soon overshadowed by bigger firms．

In the mid-1970's, with the firm struggling with debt, Dr Roberts began to develop a computer kit(配套零件) for hobbyists．The result was the Altair 8800．The $395 kit (around ??1,000 today) was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, resulting in a flood of orders．

Among those interested in the machine were Paul Allen and Bill Gates．The pair contacted Dr Roberts, offering to write software that would help people program the machine．The pair finally moved to Albuquerque - the home of MITS - where they founded Micro-Soft, to develop their software．

Dr Roberts sold his company in 1977．He died in hospital on 1 April after a long period of pneumonia (肺炎) ．

Why did Dr Roberts probably decide to sell his company?

       A．Because he was in heavy debt in the mid-1980's．

       B．Because he wanted to take a chance on Gates and Allen.

       C．Because he wanted to develop a computer kit for hobbyists.

       D．Because he had difficulty competing with big companies．

What do we know about MITS?

       A．It was set up by Steve Wozniak.

       B．It sold electronics parts to big firms.

       C．It is located in Albuquerque.

       D．It is a technology website.

We can learn that Popular Electronics is likely to be  ____.

       A．a newspaper                 B．a magazine  

       C．a Website              D．an organization

What is the best title of this passage?

       A．The story of the Altair 8800

       B．The founder of MITS

       C．Father of the personal computer died

       D．The story of Dr Roberts

（BBC）The "father of the personal computer" who kick-started the careers of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen has died at the age of 68．Dr Henry Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair 8800, a machine that led to the home computer age．

Gates and Allen contacted Dr Roberts after seeing the machine on the front cover of a magazine and offered to write software for it．The program was known as Altair-Basic, the foundation of Microsoft's business．"Ed was willing to take a chance on us - two young guys interested in computers , and we have always been thankful to him," the Microsoft founders said in a statement.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told technology website CNET that Dr Roberts had taken " a critically important step that led to everything we have today"．

Dr Roberts was the founder of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), originally set up to sell electronics parts to model rocket hobbyists．The company went on to sell electronic calculator parts, but was soon overshadowed by bigger firms．

In the mid-1970's, with the firm struggling with debt, Dr Roberts began to develop a computer kit(配套零件) for hobbyists．The result was the Altair 8800．The $395 kit (around £1,000 today) was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, resulting in a flood of orders．

Among those interested in the machine were Paul Allen and Bill Gates．The pair contacted Dr Roberts, offering to write software that would help people program the machine．The pair finally moved to Albuquerque - the home of MITS - where they founded Micro-Soft, to develop their software．

Dr Roberts sold his company in 1977．He died in hospital on 1 April after a long period of pneumonia (肺炎) ．

1.Why did Dr Roberts probably decide to sell his company?

         A．Because he was in heavy debt in the mid-1980's．

         B．Because he wanted to take a chance on Gates and Allen.

         C．Because he wanted to develop a computer kit for hobbyists.

         D．Because he had difficulty competing with big companies．

2.What do we know about MITS?

         A．It was set up by Steve Wozniak.

         B．It sold electronics parts to big firms.

         C．It is located in Albuquerque.

         D．It is a technology website.

3.We can learn that Popular Electronics is likely to be  ____.

         A．a newspaper                    B．a magazine  

         C．a Website                 D．an organization

4.What is the best title of this passage?

         A．The story of the Altair 8800

         B．The founder of MITS

         C．Father of the personal computer died

         D．The story of Dr Roberts

（BBC）The "father of the personal computer" who kick-started the careers of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen has died at the age of 68. Dr Henry Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair 8800, a machine that led to the home computer age.

Gates and Allen contacted Dr Roberts after seeing the machine on the front cover of a magazine and offered to write software for it. The program was known as Altair-Basic, the foundation of Microsoft's business. "Ed was willing to take a chance on us - two young guys interested in computers , and we have always been thankful to him," the Microsoft founders said in a statement.

 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told technology website CNET that Dr Roberts had taken " a critically important step that led to everything we have today". [来源:学,科,网Z,X,X,K]

Dr Roberts was the founder of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), originally set up to sell electronics parts to model rocket hobbyists. The company went on to sell electronic calculator parts, but was soon overshadowed by bigger firms.

In the mid-1970's, with the firm struggling with debt, Dr Roberts began to develop a computer kit(配套零件) for hobbyists. The result was the Altair 8800. The $395 kit (around £1,000 today) was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, resulting in a flood of orders.

Amongst those interested in the machine were Paul Allen and Bill Gates. The pair contacted Dr Roberts, offering to write software that would help people program the machine. The pair finally moved to Albuquerque - the home of MITS - where they founded Micro-Soft, to develop their software.

Dr Roberts sold his company in 1977. He died in hospital on 1 April after a long period of pneumonia．(肺炎)

1.Why did Dr Roberts probably decide to sell his company?

A. Because he was in heavy debt in the mid-1980's .

B. Because he wanted to take a chance on Gates and Allen.

C. Because he wanted to develop a computer kit for hobbyists.

D. Because he had difficulty competing with big companies. 

2.What do we know about MITS?

A. It was set up by Steve Wozniak.

B. It sold electronics parts to big firms.

C. It is located in Albuquerque.

D. It is a technology website.

3.We can learn that Popular Electronics is likely to be  ____.

A. a newspaper   B. a magazine   C. a Website   D. an organization

4.What is the best title of this passage?

A. The story of the Altair 8800

B. The founder of MITS

C. Father of the personal computer died

D. The story of Dr Roberts