Scientists Johan Feenstra and Rob Hayes think they"ve figured out how a process called electrowetting can make paper that can do anything a videoscreen does. So far, though, all they"ve got to show for their efforts is a tiny piece of e-paper one centimeter square—only 225 pixels, or picture elements. That won"t be nearly enough for headlines and news videos. The only hint of the technology"s potential is a laptop presentation the inventors have set up. It features Professor Shape, Harry Potter"s teacher, holding an electronic newspaper with an embedded video clip. "That"s what we want," says Hayes. They"re likely to get it. Late last month in Tokyo, Sony took an important leap in this direction by introducing Librie, an e-book reader. Although it"s available only in black and white, Librie has the most important characteristic of paper: it reflects natural light. That means it can be read on sunny days or viewed from any angle. You can even choose your own font size. Is this finally the beginning of the end of paper? The answer is closer to "yes" than you may think. The holdup so far has been user-unfriendly screens, but now e-paper no longer relies on back-lit displays. A reflective display is easy on the eyes, with twice the contrast of computer screens and up to six times the brightness. It uses power only when changing the page, so a battery can last 300 hours. Several firms are competing for leader ship. The Philip"s display on Librie uses technology from Massachusetts-based E-Ink Corp. An electric charge moves either black or white capsules to the surface of the page in patterns that form images. Gyricon Media uses rotating balls with one black side and one white side for signs and bill boards. Other companies are focusing on improvements in liquid-crystal displays. The next challenge is to add color. One option for books would be a simple color filter, but that would block two thirds of the light. Guofu Zhou, who runs the E-Ink project for Philips, thinks products with colored ink can be ready for the market within seven years. He"s now focusing on e-paper that can display 16 or more gradations of gray, which would come in handy in medical imaging or to display black-and-white photographs at home. Labs around the world are also racing to design a robust yet flexible backing. Philips researchers are working on a technology for laminating E-Ink on a plastic layer instead of glass, which would then roll into a pen-sized tube. A flexible product for mobile phones and digital cameras can be ready in three to five years.
单选题 What scientists Johan Feenstra and Rob Hayes did was that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:事实细节题。由题干中的Johan Feenstra and Rob Haye定位至首段第二句,该句指出:两位科学家认为他们已经搞清楚一个被称为电润湿的过程是如何造纸的,这种纸具备视屏屏幕所有的功能。下一句做出进一步说明:到目前为止,他们的研究成果是一张薄薄的电子纸,一平方厘米,只有225个像素。答案选项是对第三句的概括:一张薄薄的、较简单的电子纸,故为答案。从首段第六句可知此处的paper是指newspaper,注意选择题为从四个选项中找出最贴切的选项,"他们制成了电子报纸"虽然表述正确,但与答案选项相比过于笼统,不具体。第二句指出:paper that can do anything a videoscreen does,这里并非指两者外观相似,而是指功能相同;第二句明确表明他们是应用electrowetting来造纸,并不是说他们发明了electrowetting。
单选题 The greatest advance that Librie has is that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:推理判断题。由题干中的Librie定位至第二段第二句:索尼公司取得了重大进步,它推出了一种电子书籍阅读器Librie。接着对其功能进行了介绍:虽然Librie是黑白的,但是它具有纸质书籍的最重要的特性—反射自然光。这最终意味着你可以在晴天,或从任何角度阅读。因为Librie具有了与一般纸质书籍一样的最重要的特性,由此可以推断答案选项正确。该段倒数第二句提到You can even choose your own font size,这里是说读者可以选择书上字体的大小,但并未对Librie的尺寸进行说明,"与平装本书籍大小一样"没有依据,排除。文中并未对Librie的市场前景进行预测,也没有提到该阅读器的容量。
单选题 The answer is closer to "yes"(Line 1, Paragraph 3) because
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:语义理解题。由题干中的The answer is closer to "yes"定位至第三段首句,该句是对第二段末句问题:这最终意味着纸质书籍开始消失吗?第三段第二句对closer to yes进行了解释:目前存在的障碍是让用户感到不舒服的屏幕,但是现在电子纸张已经不再依赖背光显示。反射式显示屏的对比度是电脑屏幕的两倍,亮度是电脑屏幕的六倍,能使眼睛更轻松。可见这里closer to yes的意思是说原来存在的障碍即将消除了。第二句只是提到back-lit displays,并没有对其功能进行说明或评价;"the Philip"s display has the latest E-Ink technology"是对该段第六句The Philip"s display on Librie uses technology from Massachusetts-based E Ink Corp.的转述,"Gyricon Media has rotating balls technology"是对倒数第二句中Gyricon Media uses rotating balls的转述,虽然两项的意思表述正确,但由于与首句间隔很远,与该句没有直接关系,故排除。
单选题 Guofu Zhou would probably agree that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:推理判断题。由题干中的Guofu Zhou定位至第四段第二句,指出周国富认为装有彩色墨水的阅读器在七年之内会投放市场。接着提到:他现在致力于研究能够显示16级或更多灰色色级的电子纸,它将被用在医学成像上或者做家庭黑白摄影照片的像纸。可见Guofu Zhou认为电子纸张可以办公用,也可以家用。该段第二句提到:一个选择是增加简单的色彩过滤器,但那会阻挡三分之二的光,可见这不是一个好的解决方案;第三句中的colored ink can be ready for the market within seven years与"彩色墨水存在大问题"矛盾,排除。"the obstacle now is the user-unfriendly screens"为第三段第二句的细节,该内容与周国富的观点无关。
单选题 According to the passage, it is possible that e-paper
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析:推理判断题。由于本题为全文最后一题,浏览各选项可看出是对电子纸张前景的预测,因此答案最可能在末段。该段指出:世界各地的实验室都在争先恐后地设计强大、可以通用的支持系统。飞利浦的研究者在研究一项技术,将电子墨水碾压在塑料层而不是玻璃层上,之后就卷成一个和笔差不多大的管子。而三五年内我们就会看到能与手机和数码相机通用的产品。由此可以判断电子纸张前景美妙,不久之后就可以市场化。"…printed on paper with E-Ink"是对电子纸张的字面曲解,与文中内容无关。文章只是在第二段末提到Is this finally the beginning of the end of paper?末段并未就此进行评论;"用塑料取代玻璃"是末段第二句中给出的细节内容,是已经采取的行动,不是对未来的预测。