The telecity is a city whose life, direction, and functioning are largely shaped by telecommunications. In the twenty first century, cities will be based more and more on an economy that is dependent on services and intellectual property. Telecommunications and information networks will define a city"s architecture, shape, and character. Proximity in the telecity will be defined by the speed and bandwidth of networks as much as by geographical propinquity. In the age of the telecity, New York and Singapore may be closer than, say, New York and Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Telecities will supersede megacities for several reasons, including the drive toward clean air, reducing pollution, energy conservation, more jobs based on services, and coping with the high cost of urban property. Now we must add the need to cope with terrorist threats in a high-technology world. Western mind-sets were clearly jolted in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and attacks in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and else where. But the risks posed by twentieth-century patterns of urbanization and architecture have ye to register fully with political figures and leaders of industry. The Pentagon, for example, has been rebuilt in situation rather than distributed to multiple locations and connected by secure landlines and broadband wireless systems. Likewise, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center complex still represents a massive concentration of humanity and infrastructure. This is a remarkably shortsighted and dangerous vision of the future. The security risks, economic expenses, and environmental hazards of over-centralization are everywhere, and they do not stop with skyscrapers and large governmental structures. There are risks also at seaports and airports, in food and water supplies, at nuclear power plants and hydroelectric turbines at major dams, in transportation systems, and in information and communications systems. This vulnerability applies not only to terrorist threats but also to human error, such as system-wide blackouts in North America in August 2003 and in Italy in September 2003, and natural disasters such as typhoons, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. Leaders and planners are only slowly becoming aware that overcentralized facilities are the most vulnerable to attack or catastrophic destruction. There is also growing awareness that new broadband electronic systems now allow governments and corporations to safeguard their key assets and people in new and innovative ways. So far, corporations have been quickest to adjust to these new realities, and some governments have begun to adjust as well.
单选题 Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:细节题。文章第一段最后一句提到"在电脑电信技术城市的时代,纽约距新加坡会比纽约距阿肯色州的Arkaadelphia更近",由此可知答案选项符合文意。文章第一句提到"电脑电信技术城市是一个其生活、方向和功能人都通过电信塑造的城市",所以"电脑电信技术城市是一个制造电视的城市"不正确;第一段第四句提到"电脑电信技术城市中的接近将通过网络的速度和带宽以及地理位置的接近来确定",所以"电脑电信技术城市是一个有网络的速度和带宽的城市"是对原文意思的曲解;"新加坡实际上比阿肯色州的Arkadelphia距纽约更近"缺少了一个先决条件。因此这三项都不正确。
单选题 The advantage of telecities over megacities may include all the following EXCEPT
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:细节题。文章第二段提到了电脑电信技术城市的优点,包括降低污染、节约能源以及对付恐怖分子,也就是题目中的其他三项的内容;另外,还提到了解决城市财产的高费用问题这一项,因此"城市财产的高费用"与文意不符,为正确选项。
单选题 What is the author"s attitude toward the reconstruction of The Pentagon and the World Trade Center?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:观点题。文章第三段最后三句提到"五角大楼已在位置上重建,而不是分散至多个位置并通过安全的陆上运输和无线宽带系统连接。同样,世贸中心复杂的重建仍然代表着对人性和基础设施的广为关注。这是对未来的一种相当短浅且危险的见解",由此可以看出作者对重建五角大楼和世贸中心的态度是"批评的"。"支持的","中立的"和"敌对的"都与文章表达的语气不符。
单选题 Judging from the context, the word "they"(Line 2, Paragraph 4) might refer to
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:语义题。文章第四段第一句提到"处处都是过度集中造成的安全风险、经济费用和环境危险,而且它们没有阻止摩天大楼和大型政府结构",根据代词的指代就近的特点,可知此处的they指的应是前一句的主语,所以"安全风险、经济费用和环境危险"符合文意。"安全风险"和"过度集中的环境危险"都不全面,"恐怖分子的袭击"不是这段提到的内容,所以这三项都不正确。
单选题 According to the author, the most active advocates of telecities are
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:推理题。文章最后一段最后一句提到"迄今为止,公司是最快适应这些新的现实情况的,而且一些政府也开始调整以适应新情况",由此可推知最积极倡导电脑电信技术城市的应该是一些公司,所以答案选项符合文意。"领导人和规划者","城市建筑师"和"政府管理者"都不符合文中提到的内容。