阅读理解 Connected homes will take longer to materialize than expected. The fanfare has gone on for years. Analysts have repeatedly predicted that the "internet of things" could transform the lives of individuals as dramatically as the spread of the mobile internet. Providers have focused on the home, touting products such as coffee pots that turn on when the alarm clock rings. But so far consumers have been largely resistant to making their homes "smart".
Too few consumers are convinced that the internet has a role to play in every corner of their lives. A survey conducted in Britain by a consulting firm, found that 72% of people have no plans to adopt smart-home technology in the next two to five years and that they are unwilling to pay for it. Last year consumers globally spent around $60 billion on hardware and services for the smart home, a fraction of the total outlay on domestic gadgets. That's not for want of trying by tech firms, which have poured cash into their efforts to connect everyday objects to the internet. There are several reasons for muted enthusiasm. A lot of smart devices for the home, remain "fun but not essential", says Adam Segar of Canary. Many smart gadgets are still too expensive. One of Samsung' s smart fridges sells for a cool $5,000. The technology is not perfect yet, either.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Amazon, which failed miserably in its ambition to develop a smartphone, is showing the way. Amazon Echo shares information about the weather and sports scores, plays music and turns lights on and off. The device, which costs around $180, is not yet a big seller. Yet the Echo is the talk of Silicon Valley. An interface that relies on voice commands could overcome one of the drawbacks of the piecemeal approach to the smart home, by becoming the standard integrator of all the other bits of smart kit.
If the tech giants retain their ambition to sit at the centre of the smart home, uncertainty prevails over where the profits lie."It remains unclear what the economic model for the smart home will be," says Andy Hobsbawm of Evrythng, an internet-of-things platform.

单选题 21.According to Paragraph 1, which of the following statements is NOT true?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。根据题干关键词定位到文章第一段。A项内容可定位到该段首句Connected homes will take longer to materialize than expected．题干中achieve是文中materialize的同义替换，意为“实现”，故正确。C项“消费者不愿意为家里购买智能产品”与该段最后一句But so far consumers have been largely resistant to making their homes“smart”(然而，迄今为止，顾客大力抵制实现家庭智能化)表述一致，故正确。D项“供应商主要关注家居领域”可定位到该段倒数第二句Providers have focused on the home…，且attach great importance to是focus on的同义替换，故正确。B项“物联网肯定会显著改变人们的生活”，表达过于绝对，而该段第三句…predicted that the“internet of things”could transform the lives of individuals as dramatically as…表达一种预测，因此错误，故本题选B。

单选题 22.The word "fraction" (Para. 2) is closest in meaning to______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】含义题。根据题干关键词定位到文章第二段第三句后半部分…a fraction of the total outlay on domestic gadgets。根据前文调查结果“在未来2-5年中，72％的人既不打算采用智能家居技术，也不乐意购买智能家居”可知，智能产品及其消费额度会远远低于整个家居产品的消费总额，因此A项“一小部分”正确，故本题选A。

单选题 23.Which is NOT the reason why consumers have little enthusiasm for smart devices?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】细节题。根据题干关键词定位到文章第二段。B、D两项分别可定位到该段倒数第三句、第一句Many smart gadgets are still too expensive…The technology is not perfect yet，either，故正确。C项“许多家居智能产品不是生活必需品”中not necessaries for life是原文not essential的同义替换，故正确。A项“供应商将大量的财力投入到物联网”与原文That’s not for want of trying by tech firms，which have poured cash into their efforts to connect everyday objects to the internet表述一致。但通过下文可知，这不是造成顾客热情不高的原因，故本题选A。

单选题 24.According to Paragraph 3, the main reason for Echo to become the talk of Silicon Valley is that it______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】细节题。根据题干关键词定位到文章第三段。A项“Echo占据市场大部分份额”与该段第三句…is not yet a big seller意思相反，故排除。B项“智能手机研发的失败为研发Echo积累了经验”在原文中并未提及。C项关键词share information可定位到该段第二句Amazoncho shares information about the weather and sports scores，但其不是Echo已成硅谷热点话题的主要原因。分析原文可知，Echo的成功主要在于其语音接口可以克服智能家居“连接方式标准化程度低”这一弊端，与D项表述一致，故本题选D。

单选题 25.Based on the whole passage, we can infer that the future development of smart devices in home will be______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】细节题。根据题干关键词可知，本题考查智能家居产品的发展前景。通过首段第一句话Connected homes will take longer to materialize than expected(真正实现互联家庭仍是长路漫漫)和最后一段安迪-霍布斯鲍姆所评述的话，即未来智能家居行业经济模式如何尚不明确可知，智能家居产品前景尚不明确。B项“使人失望”、C项“普遍的”和D项“前途无望的”均与题意不符，因此排除，故本题选A。