连载3：2012年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语试题分析

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realize that you are flying, higher than a bird． Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand．Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true．

　　The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labor to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier．

　　The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique．The computer is the 21st century’s culture machine．

　　But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution．

　　I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing．

　　All animals download, but only a few upload．Beavers build dams and birds make nests．Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods—paintings, sculpture and architecture—and superfluous experiences—music, literature, religion and philosophy．

　　For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode． Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume．

　　Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.

　　What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of “stickiness”— creations and experiences to which others adhere．

　　[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human．Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity．

　　[B] Applications like tumblr.com, which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others．

　　[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day．

　　[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading—between passive consumption and active creation—whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine．

　　[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players．

　　[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world’s media culture has been defined by a single medium—television—and television is defined by downloading．

　　[G] The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading．

41．答案C

　　分析  文章第一段设想了一个梦, 即坐飞机时怀里放着牛皮纸信封一样薄的笔记本电脑, 手里拿着薄薄的手机。第二段谈了这个梦的实现: 在 20世纪, 这个既是打字机又是印刷机, 既是画笔又是美术馆, 既是工作室又是剧院, 既是钢琴又是广播, 既是邮件又是邮差的个人电脑已经出现。然后, 第三段谈互联网使个人电脑成了 21世纪集生产、发布、接收、评论于一身的 “文化机器”。[C]段讲: 个人电脑通过网络被联在一起, 形成了一个世界性的网络。这正好在第二段和第三段之间形成一个过渡 ,逻辑关系很明显。因此 ,本题答案是[C]。

　　42．答案D

　　分析 文章第四段提醒人们注意互联网和个人电脑带来的问题: “尽管有许多理由来赞扬计算机, 我们还是要多加小心。” 接着开始讲上传和下载、创造和消费的关系, 作者将此描述为它们之间的 “秘密战争”。[D]段讲: 联网的电脑引起了上传和下载之间、被动接受和主动创造之间的一场秘密战争, 这正好解释了为何要 “多加小心”。因此, 本题答案是[D]。

　　43．答案 A

　　分析  文章第六段谈动物与人的区别:动物都会下载, 很少能够上传。上传显示了人类真正的创造性, 或者人性。这种创造性是人与动物的根本区别, 产生了绘画、文学、音乐、哲学和宗教。[A]段紧接着讲: 正是这些东西定义了人类文化和人性的意义。下载和消费文化需要技能, 但是如果仅能下载, 就剥夺了自己人性的一个决定性方面。显然, [A]段是对第六段内容的进一步阐述, 承上启下。因此, 本题答案是[A]。

　　44．答案F

　　分析 文章第七段谈个人电脑给人们带来了诸多可能性, 但是多数人仍然停留在下载的思维模式上。只有一小部分人上传, 稍多点的人评论和修改, 绝大多数人都在下载, 形成了一个 “金字塔”结构。 [F]段紧接着讲: 这种生产的金字塔得以延续的原因之一就是, 在过去的半个世纪里, 世界的媒体文化大都被一种媒体, 即电视所决定, 而电视的特征就是下载。显然,这些细节都是对前一段内容的承接: 对“下载”和 “金字塔”结构的解释因此, 本题答案是[F]。

　　45. 答案 G

　　分析  文章第八段承上启下, 谈电视是信息的 “单向流动 ”, 一旦开了电视, 就很难让看电视的人再把它关上。 [G]段紧接着讲: 联网计算机 50年来首次提供了机会逆转这个单向流动。这与上一段形成了承接关系。 [G]段又讲: 鼓励经过思考的下载, 更重要的是, 鼓励有意义的上传。这又衔接了下一段。文章第九段讲: 什么是有意义的上传? 这个问题本身就是对 [G]段的呼应。因此, 本题答案是[G]。

文章结构

　　本文是一篇关于互联网和人类创造力的文章。文章大致可以分成以下几个主要部分。

　　第一，文章将互联网及其终端——个人电脑——描述为 20世纪的重大发明, 一个梦想的实现: 它既是打字机, 又是印刷机; 既是画笔, 又是美术馆; 既是工作室, 又是剧院; 既是钢琴,又是广播; 既是邮件, 又是邮差。在联网后, 个人电脑成了 21世纪集生产、发布、接收、评论于一身的 “文化机器”。

　　第二 ,文章提醒人们注意互联网和个人电脑带来的问题 :上传和下载、生产和使用、创造和消费的关系 ,作者将此描述为它们之间的 “秘密战争”。 1)大多数人在下载 ,在被动接受 ,在消费 ; 2)只有少数人在上传 ,像金字塔的上端, 在主动创造; 3)上传的人显示了真正的创造性 ,或者人性 ,这种创造性构成了人与动物的根本区别; 4)下载可能是电视文化的后遗症 ,被动接受的人可能是电视文化的受害者 ,联网计算机将改变或逆转被动接受这种模式。

　　最后, 文章暗示了互联网背后的商业议题 :通过上传创造性的内容, 形成一种 “黏性 ”, 黏住消费者的眼球从而获利。

从这些内容可以看出, 本文的结构是: 提出问题和分析问题。