Passage 5
　　In promising to fuse media as diverse as television,telephone communication,video games,music and data transmission,the era of digital convergence goes better than yesterdays celebrated “information superhighway.” Yet achieving this single technology is far from straightforward.There are currently three major television broadcast standards,and they are all incompatible with each an other.But this is nothing compared to the many technologies supporting the Internet,each with a different bandwidth and physical media.The problems faced in designing platforms and communication systems that will be accepted across the world can appear insuperable. Even once global standards are assured,however,a further obstacle lies in wait.The Internet is plagued by long,erratic response times because it is a pull technology,driven by patterns of user demands.Pushtechnology,on the other hand,reverses the relationship: servers simply send information to passive users,as in television and radio.But if some form of combination between one way television flow and interactive Internet is to be the basis of our future media,it is hard to see how it could be operated.Moreover,the problem of fusing Internet with television is also one of defining the services offered.Information,entertainment and relaxation appear at first to be quite different needs.Serious doubts remain over whether consumers will be interested in having to make t he sort of mental effort associated with computing while also settling down in front of a sitcom. Besides the issue of consumer habits,infrastructure costs are set to be immense,and will have to be met by national states or the private sector before  being passed on to users.Platform do not necessarily have to be expensive.The mobile phone is a good example of how something that is technologically sophisti cated can almost be given away,with its cost recovered through service charges. Users are then coerced through clever marketing to upgrade to newer phones with more features to reinforce their dependence. Whatever the outcome,it is obvious that technology will play an increasing part in our everyday lives.Beyond technology,digital convergence embraces the services,industrial practices and social behavior that form modern society.We have in our hands the technology to construct the most sophisticated machines ever built,but if they are unusable,simply because of their operating instructions,then recent lessons have taught us they will not survive.Whatever we design  must be simple,reliable and useful.Perhaps this is where artificial intelligence will come in.

　　1.By digital convergence,the author means ____.

　　A) diversification of the communication systems
　　B) separating entertainment and communication
　　C) integrating the various means of media
　　D) straightforward transmission of data

　　2.What is pulltechnology?

　　A) It is the Internet system affected by long,uncertain response times. 　　
　　B) It is the way of business operation driven by user demands.
　　C) It is the technology to send information to passive users.
　　D) It is a way to blend oneway television with interactive Internet.

　　3.Why is it difficult to combine television and the Internet?

　　A) Because there are no global standards for the combination.
　　B) Because the two are operated on different principles of services.
　　C) Because television is uninteractive,while the Internet is interactive.
　　D) Because the combination overlooks the consumers different needs.

　　4.As far as the cost for digital convergence is concerned,____.

　　A) the expenses for building the basic facilities are too immense to be met
　　B) the infrastructures cost should be paid by national states and the private sector alone
　　C) the cost for building a platform can be recovered by collecting service charges
　　D) the high cost can be covered by effective marketing to attracts more customers

　　5.What may finally help to achieve digital convergence?

　　A) Designing platforms and communication systems with global standards.
　　B) Winning recognition from users who have different expectations for different media.
　　C) Developing a network advanced enough to support the integration of media.
　　D) Using artificial intelligence to design simple,reliable and useful products.

　　语言注释
　　Passage 5
　　1.convergence n.集中，收敛
　　2.erratic adj.无确定路线的，不稳定的
　　3.infrastructure n.基础设施

　　答案解析 　　
　　Passage 5

　　1.C
　　本题要求考生理解文中的概念性含义。文中第一段给出了digital convergence(数字集成)的定义，即将电视、电话、游戏、音乐和数据传输融为一体(to fuse media as diverse as television,telephone communication,video games,music and data transmission)。故正确答案为C。

　　2.B
　　本题要求考生理解文中的概念性含义。第二段中作者谈及在实现数字集成的过程中存在的另一障碍——各种媒体不同经营理念(pull technology and push technology)。从上下文可知，pull technology是指那种以消费者需求为中心的服务理念。故B为正确答案。

　　3.B
　　本题是主旨题。文章第二段由总到分，由概括到细节，并以互联网和电视结合的具体困难做例子，分析了数字集成难以实现的一个重要原因——各种媒体不同的服务理念。故B为正确答案。此题中，考生必须注意区分论点和论据，从具体分析和事例中概括段落主旨。

　　4.C
　　本题是细节题，要求考生准确理解文中的具体信息。本题问及数字集成过程中存在的另一障碍——高额成本。但是本文作者并没有对此展开论述，而是针对这一问题，通过移动电话推广成功的实例，提出了解决的方案。故C为正确答案。

　　5.D
　　本题要求考生准确把握文章的总体结构和段落之间的关系，概括作者的观点。在文章的末尾作者总结到，数字集成的实现不仅仅是技术支持的问题，它涉及到服务、商业经营和构成现代社会的种种社会行为(Beyond technology,digital convergence embraces the services,industrial practices and social behavior that form modern society.)
　　作者还进一步提出人工智能技术或许能够帮助解决目前的问题。