Foreign Language Department4.Millions of people there cannot read these words because they don't havetoacomputer.A) choiceB) opportunityC) access5. They say they expect the meeting to have a markedon the future of thecountry.C) importA) impressB) impact6. The group is working to promote theofbroadbandwirelessaccessoverlongdistances.A)adjustmentB)adoptionC)adaptation7. These advances in medicine have aeffect on human health.A) profoundB)progressC)prospect8. Withto Plan B, I did not get involved in the process.C) respectA) aspectB) suspectStep2:Intensive ReadingRead the text and distinguish between the main idea and the supporting detailswhile readingReading tips: Distinguishing between the main idea and the supporting details is a keyskill to better understand a passage.The New Digital AgeThe rise of the Internet has been one of the most transformativedevelopments in human history, comparable in impact to the invention of theprinting press and the telegraph. Over two billion people worldwide now haveaccess to more information than ever before, and can communicate with eachother instantly. But the Internet' s tremendous impacts have only just begun." Mass adoption of the Internet is driving one of the mostexciting social, cultural, and political transformations in history, and unlike16
Foreign Language Department 16 4. Millions of people there cannot read these words because they don ’ t have _ to a computer. A) choice B) opportunity C) access 5. They say they expect the meeting to have a marked _ on the future of the country. A) impress B) impact C) import 6. The group is working to promote the _ of broadband wireless access over long distances. A) adjustment B) adoption C) adaptation 7. These advances in medicine have a _ effect on human health. A) profound B) progress C) prospect 8. With _ to Plan B, I did not get involved in the process. A) aspect B) suspect C) respect Step 2:Intensive Reading Read the text and distinguish between the main idea and the supporting details while reading. Reading tips: Distinguishing between the main idea and the supporting details is a key skill to better understand a passage. The New Digital Age The rise of the Internet has been one of the most transformative developments in human history, comparable in impact to the invention of the printing press and the telegraph. Over two billion people worldwide now have access to more information than ever before, and can communicate with each other instantly. But the Internet’s tremendous impacts have only just begun. “ Mass adoption of the Internet is driving one of the most exciting social, cultural, and political transformations in history, and unlike
Foreign Language Departmentearlier periods of change, this time the effects are fully global." Schmidt andCohen write in their new book, The New Digital Age.Perhaps the most profound changes will come when the five billionpeople worldwide who now lack Internet access get online. The authors do anexcellent job of examining the implications of the Internet revolution forindividuals, governments, and institutions like the news media. But if the bookhas one major shortcoming, it's that the authors don' t spend enough timeapplying a critical eye to the role of Internet businesses in these sweepingchanges.In their book, the authors provide the most authoritative volumeto describe, and more importantly predict, how the Internet will shape our livesin the coming decades. They paint a picture of a world in which individuals,companies, institutions, and governments must deal with two realities, onephysical, and one virtual.At the core of the book is the idea that “ technology is neutral, butpeople aren't."By using this concept as a starting point, the authors aim to movebeyond the now familiar optimist vs.pessimist dichotomy that has characterizedmany recent debates about whether the rise of the Internet will ultimately begood or bad for the society. In an interview with TIME earlier this week, Cohensaid, although he and his co author are optimistic about many aspects of theInternet, they' re also realistic about the risks and dangers that lie ahead whenthe next five billion people come online, particularly with respect to personalprivacyand statesurveillance.comparableadj.可比较的pressn.印刷机haveaccessto使用；得到instantlyady.立即tremendousadj.巨大的adoptionn.采用profoundadj.深远的revolutionn.革命apply...to...适用于，应用于authoritative adj.权威性的17
Foreign Language Department 17 earlier periods of change, this time the effects are fully global.”Schmidt and Cohen write in their new book, The New Digital Age. Perhaps the most profound changes will come when the five billion people worldwide who now lack Internet access get online. The authors do an excellent job of examining the implications of the Internet revolution for individuals, governments, and institutions like the news media. But if the book has one major shortcoming, it’s that the authors don’t spend enough time applying a critical eye to the role of Internet businesses in these sweeping changes. In their book, the authors provide the most authoritative volume to describe, and more importantly predict, how the Internet will shape our lives in the coming decades. They paint a picture of a world in which individuals, companies, institutions, and governments must deal with two realities, one physical, and one virtual. At the core of the book is the idea that“technology is neutral, but people aren’t.”By using this concept as a starting point, the authors aim to move beyond the now familiar optimist vs. pessimist dichotomy that has characterized many recent debates about whether the rise of the Internet will ultimately be good or bad for the society. In an interview with TIME earlier this week, Cohen said, although he and his co author are optimistic about many aspects of the Internet, they’re also realistic about the risks and dangers that lie ahead when the next five billion people come online, particularly with respect to personal privacy and state surveillance. comparable adj. 可比较的 press n. 印刷机 have access to 使用； 得到 instantly adv. 立即 tremendous adj. 巨大的 adoption n. 采用 profound adj. 深远的 revolution n.革命 apply. to. 适用于，应用于 authoritative adj. 权威 性的
Foreign Language Departmentphysicaladj.现实neutraladj.中立的dichotomyn。二分法debaten.辩论aspectn.方面withrespectto关于surveillance n.监视Read the text again and decide on the most suitable choice for each questionbelow.1.In what way is the rise of the Internet similar to the invention of the printing pressand the telegraph?A) It transforms human historyB) It facilitates daily communication.C) It is adopted by all humanity.D) It revolutionizes people's thinking.2. How do Schmidt and Cohen describe the effects of the Internet?A)They are immeasurable.B) They are worldwideC) They are unpredictableD) They are contaminating3.Inwhat respect is thebookTheNewDigital Ageconsidered inadequate?A) It fails to recognize the impact of the Internet technologyB) It fails to look into the social implications of the Internet.C) It lacks an objective evaluation of the role of Internet businessesD)Itdoes notaddress thetechnical aspectsof Internetcommunication4. What will the future be like when everybody gets online?A) People will be living in two different realities.B)Peoplewillhaveequal accesstoinformationC) People don't have to travel to see the worldD)People don't have to communicate face toface5. What does the passage say about the authors of The New Digital Age?A)They leave many questions unanswered concerning the InternetB)They are optimistic about the future of the Internet revolutionC)Theyhaveexplored theunknown territories ofthevirtual world.18
Foreign Language Department 18 physical adj. 现实 neutral adj.中立的 dichotomy n. 二分法 debate n. 辩论 aspect n. 方面 with respect to 关于 surveillance n. 监视 Read the text again and decide on the most suitable choice for each question below. 1. In what way is the rise of the Internet similar to the invention of the printing press and the telegraph? A) It transforms human history. B) It facilitates daily communication. C) It is adopted by all humanity. D) It revolutionizes people’s thinking. 2. How do Schmidt and Cohen describe the effects of the Internet? A) They are immeasurable. B) They are worldwide. C) They are unpredictable. D) They are contaminating. 3. In what respect is the book The New Digital Age considered inadequate? A) It fails to recognize the impact of the Internet technology. B) It fails to look into the social implications of the Internet. C) It lacks an objective evaluation of the role of Internet businesses. D) It does not address the technical aspects of Internet communication. 4. What will the future be like when everybody gets online? A) People will be living in two different realities. B) People will have equal access to information. C) People don’t have to travel to see the world. D) People don’t have to communicate face to face. 5. What does the passage say about the authors of The New Digital Age? A) They leave many questions unanswered concerning the Internet. B) They are optimistic about the future of the Internet revolution. C) They have explored the unknown territories of the virtual world
Foreign Language DepartmentD) They don't take sides in analyzing the effects of the Internet.C.Deeper Reading:Choose 5 from the 7 sentences provided in theboxtocompletethefollowingpassage.Driving involves sharp eyes and keen ears, analyzing with a brain, and coordinationbetween hands, feet and brain. A man has sharp eyes and keen ears, analyzes throughhis brain, and maintains coordination between his hands, feet and brain.He cancontrol a fast-moving car with different parts of his body.Apparently there isn't anyone in the driver's cab, but there is in fact avirtual driver. This virtual driver has eyes, brain, hands and feet, too. Themini-cameras on each side of the car are its eyes and are responsible for observing theroad conditions ahead of it as well as the traffic to its left and right. If you open theboot, you can see the most important part of the automatic driving system -a built-inThe brain of the car is responsible for analyzing their position on thecomputer.road, choosing the right path, and giving orders to the wheel and the control system.In comparison with the human brain, the virtual driver's best advantage is that it_ However, it takes the world's best race-car driver at least onereacts quickly.second to react, and this doesn't include the time he needs to take action.With its rapid reaction and accurate control, the virtual driver can reduce theaccident rate on expressways considerably. In this case, is it possible for us to let ithave the wheel at any time and in any place?With its limited ability to recognize things, the car can now only travel onexpressways. The intelligent car determines its direction by the clear lines that markthe lanes clearly and recognizes vehicles according to their regular shapes.Thisbeing the case, people still have high hopes about driverless cars, and think highly ofintelligent cars are what the cars of thefutureshould be likeA.Experts say that we cannot do that just yet.B. In the near future, intelligent cars will be put into commercial operationC. This is the brain of the car.D. But how does an intelligent car control itself?19
Foreign Language Department 19 D) They don’t take sides in analyzing the effects of the Internet. C. Deeper Reading:Choose 5 from the 7 sentences provided in the box to complete the following passage. Driving involves sharp eyes and keen ears, analyzing with a brain, and coordination between hands, feet and brain. A man has sharp eyes and keen ears, analyzes through his brain, and maintains coordination between his hands, feet and brain. He can control a fast-moving car with different parts of his body. _ Apparently there isn’t anyone in the driver’s cab, but there is in fact a virtual driver. This virtual driver has eyes, brain, hands and feet, too. The mini-cameras on each side of the car are its eyes and are responsible for observing the road conditions ahead of it as well as the traffic to its left and right. If you open the boot, you can see the most important part of the automatic driving system — a built-in computer. _ The brain of the car is responsible for analyzing their position on the road, choosing the right path, and giving orders to the wheel and the control system. In comparison with the human brain, the virtual driver’s best advantage is that it reacts quickly. _ However, it takes the world’s best race-car driver at least one second to react, and this doesn’t include the time he needs to take action. With its rapid reaction and accurate control, the virtual driver can reduce the accident rate on expressways considerably. In this case, is it possible for us to let it have the wheel at any time and in any place? _ With its limited ability to recognize things, the car can now only travel on expressways. The intelligent car determines its direction by the clear lines that mark the lanes clearly and recognizes vehicles according to their regular shapes. _ This being the case, people still have high hopes about driverless cars, and think highly of intelligent cars are what the cars of the future should be like. A.Experts say that we cannot do that just yet. B. In the near future, intelligent cars will be put into commercial operation. C. This is the brain of the car. D. But how does an intelligent car control itself?
Foreign Language DepartmentE. It completes the processing of the images sent by the cameras within 100milliseconds.F. However, it cannot recognize moving people and bicycles on ordinary roads thathave no clear markings on them.G. Virtual driving is popular with old peopleD. Banked Close:Read the passage and choose the suitable optionfrom the box for each blank.F)C) holdA) whatB) consequenceD)availableE) nightmareL)deliverI)postedJ) formalK) coverG) charge H) supplyingcalledM) majorN) engagedO)programmingA class with hundreds or even thousands of students might sound like a teacher'sworst. But a big idea in higher education these days is Massive Open OnlineCourses, or MOCs.Some universities offer free, non-credit MOOCsto anyone in the world. Othersfor courses and provide credits. The idea is still developing. The MassachusettsInstitute of Technology started its first MOOC in 2012. The school plans to offermany free, non-credit courses through a projectMITx.Many Chineseuniversities are beginning to offer free MOOCs now, too.Nowadays, MOoCs almosteverytopic,likecomputer science,technologymechanics, engineering, languages, etc.. Generally speaking, there are noeducation requirements for these free online courses. Students watch short videos.Then, they take informal, ungraded quizzes after the videos each week for certainweeks. Quizzes are part of the lecture program to keep studentsandkeepthemthinking, for students to be able to check that they understoodwascoveredThey can repeatedly watch the videos and take the quizzes whenever they want.Students receive homework. They can join online groups to exchange questions andanswers about the courses. The teachers hold virtual office hours to answer questions20
Foreign Language Department 20 E. It completes the processing of the images sent by the cameras within 100 milliseconds. F. However, it cannot recognize moving people and bicycles on ordinary roads that have no clear markings on them. G. Virtual driving is popular with old people. D. Banked Close:Read the passage and choose the suitable option from the box for each blank. A) what B) consequence C) hold D) available E) nightmare F) deliver G) charge H) supplying I) posted J) formal K) cover L) called M) major N) engaged O) programming A class with hundreds or even thousands of students might sound like a teacher’s worst _ . But a big idea in higher education these days is Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. Some universities offer free, non-credit MOOCs _ to anyone in the world. Others _ for courses and provide credits. The idea is still developing. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology started its first MOOC in 2012. The school plans to offer many free, non-credit courses through a project _ MITx. Many Chinese universities are beginning to offer free MOOCs now, too. Nowadays, MOOCs almost _ every topic, like computer science, technology, mechanics, engineering, languages, etc. Generally speaking, there are no _ education requirements for these free online courses. Students watch short videos. Then, they take informal, ungraded quizzes after the videos each week for certain weeks. Quizzes are part of the lecture program to keep students _ and keep them thinking, for students to be able to check that they understood _ was covered. They can repeatedly watch the videos and take the quizzes whenever they want. Students receive homework. They can join online groups to exchange questions and answers about the courses. The teachers hold virtual office hours to answer questions