历年考研英语阅读理解mp3(01-2)

[00:00.00]在线英语听力室(www.tingroom.com)友情制作
[00:02.92]2001 Passage2
[00:06.95]A great deal of attention is being paid today
[00:09.79]to the so-called digital divide
[00:12.52]--the division of the world into the info(information) rich
[00:17.15]and the info poor.
[00:19.17]And that divide does exist today.
[00:22.80]My wife and I lectured about
[00:24.81]this looming¹ danger twenty years ago.
[00:28.04]What was less visible then, however, were the new,
[00:31.47]positive forces that work against the digital divide.
[00:35.61]There are reasons to be optimistic.
[00:38.84]There are technological² reasons to hope
[00:41.07]the digital divide will narrow.
[00:43.89]As the Internet becomes more and more commercialized,
[00:47.33]it is in the interest of business to universalize access
[00:52.16]--after all, the more people online,
[00:54.89]the more potential customers there are.
[00:57.70]More and more governments,
[00:59.42]afraid their countries will be left behind,
[01:01.95]want to spread Internet access.
[01:04.77]Within the next decade or two,
[01:06.89]one to two billion people on the planet
[01:09.42]will be netted together.
[01:11.54]As a result, I now believe the digital divide
[01:14.88]will narrow rather than widen in the years ahead.
[01:18.61]And that is very good news because the Internet
[01:21.27]may well be the most powerful tool for
[01:24.24]combating world poverty that we've ever had.
[01:28.49]Of course, the use of the Internet
[01:30.72]isn't the only way to defeat poverty.
[01:33.44]And the Internet is not the only tool we have.
[01:37.17]But it has enormous potential.
[01:38.85]在线英语听力室(www.tingroom.com)友情制作
[01:39.56]To take advantage of this tool,
[01:41.68]some impoverished³ countries will have to get over
[01:44.60]their outdated⁴ anti-colonial prejudices
[01:47.93]with respect to foreign investment.
[01:50.86]Countries that still think foreign investment
[01:53.87]is an invasion of their sovereignty
[01:56.19]might well study the history of infrastructure
[01:59.83](the basic structural⁵ foundations of a society)
[02:03.25]in the United States.
[02:05.38]When the United States built its industrial infrastructure,
[02:08.91]it didn't have the capital to do so.
[02:11.63]And that is why America's Second Wave infrastructure
[02:15.46]--including roads, harbors, highways, ports
[02:19.39]and so on--were built with foreign investment.
[02:23.58]The English, the Germans, the Dutch
[02:26.12]and the French were investing in Britain's former colony.
[02:29.86]They financed them.
[02:32.08]Immigrant Americans built them.
[02:34.59]Guess who owns them now?
[02:36.41]The Americans.
[02:38.13]I believe the same thing would be true in places
[02:40.74]like Brazil or anywhere else for that matter.
[02:44.07]The more foreign capital you have helping⁶ you
[02:46.41]build your Third Wave infrastructure,
[02:49.44]which today is an electronic infrastructure,
[02:52.56]the better off you're going to be.
[02:55.46]That doesn't mean lying down and becoming fooled,
[02:58.89]or letting foreign corporations run uncontrolled.
[03:02.64]But it does mean recognizing
[03:04.45]how important they can be in building the energy
[03:07.77]and telecom infrastructures
[03:09.69]needed to take full advantage of the Internet.

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

3 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

5 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。