丁蘭

A

If there is one thing I'm sure about， it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading ?newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.

The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives—and the big political stories， the coverage of the wars， earthquakes and other disasters， will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research， though. It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives， like genetic （基因） engineering. In the future， I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do—as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.

It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted （傳送） electronically from the Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact， I'm pretty sure that is how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu， making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read—say， sport and international news.

I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media （媒體）. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresee that television would kill off newspapers， but that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet， it's never really pleasant to read something just on a screen.

1. What is the best title for the passage？

A. The Best Way to Get News B. The Changes of Media

C. Make Your Own Newspaper D. The Future of Newspapers

2. In the writer's opinion， in the future，.

A. newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer

B. more big political affairs， wars and disasters will make news

C. newspapers will cover more scientific research

D. more and more people will read newspapers

3. From the passage， we can infer.

A. newspapers ?will ?win ?the ?competition among the different media

B. newspapers will stay with us together with other media

C. television will take the place of newspapers

D. the writer believes some media will die out

4. The underlined words “feed off” in the last paragraph means.

A. depend on B. live on C. fight with D. kill of

B

Consumers （消費(fèi)者） will pay more for electric goods over the next two years because of a shortage of computer chips.

The prices of some memory chips more than doubled in recent months.

The tight supply probably will continue through 2004 until new production plants come online， analysts （分析家） say.

“Bad news for shoppers， great news for the industry，” said Hutcheson， president of VLSI Research Inc.

Analysts suggest that higher prices could also lead to better and less expensive products， because companies could invest to manufacture them much more efficiently.

“It's a bitter pill， but it will be better for... everybody，” Hutcheson said.

In the long term， retail （零售） prices will be balanced by efficient factories that produce microchips ?under ?contract ?to ?larger ?manufacturers.

These factories， which produce semicon-ductors（半導(dǎo)體） at a lower cost， account for about 12 percent of the chips used in electronic hardware.

Their market share is expected to reach about 45 percent by 2010， according to the research firm Dataquest Inc.

Within two or three years， consumers should begin seeing the results of the expanded use of outside factories.

5. What is the reason for more expensive electronic goods？

A. The computer chips are in great demand.

B. The manufaturers bring up the prices.

C. The industry stopped producing them.

D. Consumers bought a great deal.

6. If companies invest to produce chips more efficiently， what will be caused？

A. Prices will be higher and higher.

B. It will bring long-term drop in prices.

C. Prices will remain the same.

D. Product quality will be a big problem.

7. What does the underlined phrase “come online” mean in the passage？

A. work on the Internet ? ? ? ? B. get online

C. come into production ? D. come into use

8. The market share of the factories that produced chips is likely to increase by by 2010.

A. 57% B. 45% C. 12% D. 33%