Question

The iPhone, the iPad, each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” – and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer – which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet –adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear – popular in the US and UK – that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.

In general, single-letter prefixes (前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.

Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.

But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.

“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.

Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.

But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared.

1.People use iPlayer to __________.

A. listen to music             B. make a call

C. watch TV programs online   D. read newspapers

2.We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is aimed at __________.

A. young readers      B. old readers

C. fashionable women D. engineers

3.The underlined word “ambiguous” means “__________”.

A. popular       B. uncertain

C. definite      D. unique

4.Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are __________.

A. portable   B. environmentally friendly

C. advanced  D. recyclable

5.The writer suggests that __________.

A. “i” products are often of high quality

B. iTeddy is alive bear

C. the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products

D. the popularity of “i” products may not last long

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.A

5.D

【解析】

试题解析：本文是一篇议论文，随着当下ipad，iphone等设备的流行，引起了作者对前缀“i”的思考，这是苹果主要为年轻人打造的，我们不能确定“i”的含义到底是什么。但是能确定的是，在当下“i”已经慢慢演化成轻便的代名词。同时作者也发表了自己的看法，认为“i”的潮流也如同2000随着21世纪的到来慢慢降温一样，终将过去。

1.】C 细节理解题。第一段中“The BBC’s iPlayer – which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet”提到，人们用iplayer来在线观看电视节目。故选C。

2.】A细节理解题。第三段开头“Most ‘I’ products are targeted at young people”大多数i产品的目标是年轻人，故选A。

3.】B词义辨析题。A流行的；B不确定的；C确定的；D唯一的。 根据后文中“When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines..”当苹果使用“i”的时候，没有人知道它的意思是互联网，信息，个人的或者是交互式的。可知文章要表达的是“i”的不确定性。故选B。

4.】A 词义辨析题。A轻便的；B环境友好的；C先进的；D可回收的。第五段“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便) .”然而，因为苹果公司，这个术语现在与轻便联系了起来，故选A。

5.】D 推理判断题。最后一段表明：历史现实，人们逐渐会厌倦时尚，从1900年到1990年，以“2000”命名产品变得很时尚因为这个年份和先进摩登的事物联系在一起，然而当我们进入新时代，人们对“2000”时尚会慢慢厌倦，这个趋势已不可避免。所以作者暗示了“i”的时尚也可能如此。故选D

考点：考察议论文阅读。