四、練習答案

Text I

Text comprehension

I. Decide which of the following best states the author’s purpose.

A

II. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.

1．F Much of online writing is very bad indeed: sloppy, meandering, puerile, ungrammatical, poorly spelled, badly structured and at times virtually content free. Refer to Paragraph 4.

2．T Refer to Paragraph 6.

3．F Polished prose by professional writers often seems long-winded and phony. Unless they adjust to the new medium, professional writers can come across as self-important blowhards in debates with more nimble net workers. Refer to Paragraph 10.

4．T Refer to Paragraph 11.

III. Answer the following questions.

1．By doing so, the author seems to suggest that writing, which went out of style with the invention of the telephone, is experiencing an unexpected comeback with online letter writing.

2．The author uses these examples to tell the readers that there are some similarities between netwriting and those experimental, even innovative writing modes in history, and so netwriting could be regarded as a kind of renaissance. But he finds in this comparison that much of netwriting is awfully bad-sloppy, meandering, ungrammatical, poorly spelled, badly structured and even content free.

3．There are three reasons that are assumed to be responsible for the poor quality of netwriting. The first has to do with the nature of the writing which is regarded as “written speech” and is of little value. The second has to do with the fact that some netwriting such as E-mail is written in a hurry. The last reason is the low barriers to entry of the online world, which is responsible for much second-rate fiction and poetry that would otherwise not have been exposed to the readers.

4．Because too many people are competing for the readers’ attention. Obviously those who fail to make any impact will be washed out, hence Darwin’s principle of survival of the fittest.

5．The author is referring to different features between netwriting and published papers. Netwriters can freely lace their writings with strange acronyms and “smileys,” while the published prose copied onto bulletin boards from books and magazines often seems long-winded and phony.

6．Networks may seem foolish and trivial, but most people’s life is foolish and trivial, too. For millions of people they represent “a living, breathing life of letters.” In other words, networks will survive because they appeal to most people.

IV. Explain in your own words the following sentences taken from the text.

1．... writers work in a kind of cooperation in which they are engaged in heated discussions and arguments about different ideas until they come up with really brilliant ones.

2．If they do not adjust themselves to the medium of netwriting, they can make themselves look conceited and self-important in debates with more quick-witted and flexible networkers.

Writing strategies

In Paragraph 3 the author quotes the following persons in support of the idea that E-mail and netwriting could be compared to the writings in history that were experimental and flexible in nature:

·Jon Carroll, a columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle;

·Patrick Nielsen Hayden, an editor at Tor Books;

·David Sewell, an associate editor at the University of Arizona.

In Paragraphs 5 and 6, the author quotes the following persons to explore the reasons for the poor quality of writing on the Internet:

·Gerard Van der Leun, literary agent based in Westport, Connecticut;

·Mary Anne Mohanraj, a Chicago-based poet.

In Paragraph 8, the author quotes the following persons in his discussion of the criteria to judge the quality of netwriting:

·Jorn Barger, a software designer in Chicago;

·Crawford Kilian, a writing teacher at Capilano College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Language work

I. Explain the underlined part（s） in each sentence in your own words.

1．surprising

2．out of date; expansion

3．compares ... to

4．careless; winding/pointless; childish/silly

5．has become known as; the most important/superior

6．brilliant

7．respected and admired

8．make a strong, immediate impression

9．given the right to; have been engaged in

10．say that it is not important enough to think about or consider; not realize how large or great the effect would be

II. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.

1．scribblers

2．obsolescence

3．rudimentary

4．mockery

5．reverence

6．vigorous

7．collaborative

8．democratized

9．enthusiast

10．trivial

III. Fill in the blank（s） in each sentence with a phrase taken from the box in its appropriate form.

1．press release

2．harking back

3．dashed off

4．weed out

5．comes across

6．blew away

7．side effects

8．made ... an impression

9．lace up

10．inherent in

11．likened to

12．confronted with

IV. Explain the meaning of the underlined part in each sentence.

1．is developing very fast

2．excitement

3．She became unhappy

4．We have no hope

5．clever or pleasing remark

6．overcome/defeat/triumph over

7．cause the reformers to act

8．being created

9．based on the wishes of most people

10．continued

V. Correct the errors in the following passage. The passage contains ten errors, one in each indicated line. In each case, only one word is involved.

（1）covered→cover/covering

（A cover/covering letter is one sent with, and explaining the contents of, another document or a parcel of goods.）

（2）decayed→decaying

（present participle：active）

（3）off→over

（take over: assume control of sth.; take off: depart hastily）

（4）formal→informal

（sense）

（5）are→is

（“140 characters,” as a whole, should be regarded as singular）

（6）semantic→semantics

（semantics n.: the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text）

（7）to→across

（“Come across as...” is a set phrase meaning “give sb. the impression of being...”）

（8）masculine→feminine

（“effeminate” above, so here “feminine ”）

（9）use→don’t use

（not because...but because...）

（10）less→least

（superlative degree）

VI. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word.

Translation

I. Translate the following sentences into English, using the words or phrases given in brackets.

1．She kept trying to reinvent herself as an actress.

2．The director’s latest film harks back to the early years of cinema.

3．The professor pointed out some of the inherent defects of the new theory proposed by that doctor.

4．Even today some of the traditional customs still prevail in rural areas.

5．The anti-smoking campaign made quite an impact on young people.

6．Her newspaper articles are terse and to the point.

7．The incident sparked a diplomatic controversy between the two countries.

8．There were many mistakes in. his English composition, because he had dashed it off just before the deadline.

9．All salespeople seem to have the same phony smile.

10．Have you ever thought of taking up engineering?

II. Translate the following passage into Chinese.

15年前，計算機專家們擴展了因特網系統。這個擴展后的系統被叫做萬維網。萬維網使計算機用戶以比以往的因特網系統快得多的速度來尋找并交換書面材料和圖片。

對大多數能夠使用計算機的人來說，因特網和萬維網已經成為快速交換信息的工具。因特網上大多信息都很有價值。作為一種研究工具，沒有什么能比得上因特網。

通過因特網幾乎可以找到任何種類的信息。網上有專門刊登鬼怪故事、詩歌或兒童故事的電子雜志。在這個電子世界里有供你玩游戲的地方，也有討論政治、科學、歷史、農耕或者任何你感興趣的話題的地方。你可以瀏覽或者搜集哈勃太空望遠鏡拍攝到的精美彩色圖片。你可以聽音樂或看錄像。你可以看到音樂家演奏他們的最新歌曲。你甚至可以加入一個小組，通過電子手段和他們聚會并討論他們最喜愛的搖滾樂隊。

Text II

I. Answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1．C

2．D

3．D

4．C

5．A

II. Questions for discussion.

1．As a tourist the author was supposed to enjoy the exotic scenes in the Himalayas, but unfortunately, he found himself checking his emails in an Internet bar. The author had a sudden strong feeling of sadness when he realized that he could not escape the intrusion of technology even in the Himalayas. （Paragraph 2）

2．The author thinks that the typical lifestyle practiced by a 21st-century man is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it offers us a convenience which was unimaginable a decade ago; on the other hand, it also encourages some of us to indulge our weaker impulses. （Paragraph 3）

3．According to the author, Black Berry is so convenient a device that you may find it impossible to resist the temptation to bring it with you wherever you go. For example, you may have it with you when you are on vacation, or attending a friend’s wedding, or even enjoying a ball game. You are addicted to it because you cannot leave it behind any more. （Paragraph 5）

4．The author is trying to convey his worries about what changes modern technology has brought about and is going to bring about in our lives. The cell phone and the Internet, as well as many other inventions, have fundamentally changed our lives. We are addicted to them, and we are “always on,” and we are lost in the artificial world, totally oblivious of the real world. In short, the author seems to suggest that modern technology is more of a curse than a blessing to humanity.