2013年3月中级口译阅读真题：阅读第三篇来源和解析

2013年春季中口阅读第三篇解析 by 新东方柳露

第三篇文章同样来自The New York Times，原文题目为The pocket calculator, near death. 这是一篇介绍袖珍计算器的文章。

The pocket calculator has been relegated to the role of a graphic icon on digital screens rather than an object in its own right. But in the early 1970s, it was at the forefront of consumer technology.

文章首段讲袖珍计算器过去和现在在科技领域角色转换对比。

A pocket calculator was the closest that most 1970s consumers came to owning anything with computational power, even if all it could do was basic math. The Sinclair Executive was one of a cluster of pocket-size electronic calculators developed at the same time. The first one small enough to fit in a shirt pocket was the Busicom LE-120A Handy, introduced in Japan in early 1971.

第二段以事实加例子的结构呈现，抓住事实，即1970s的袖珍计算器还处在科技前沿。

When the Sinclair Executive was introduced in 1972 by the British entrepreneur Clive Sinclair, it was cheaper, slimmer and looked much slicker than the others, thanks to a gleaming black ABS plastic case designed by Mr. Sinclair\'s brother, Iain. Design magazine hailed it as "at once a conversation piece, a rich man\'s plaything and a functional business machine." Dozens of other manufacturers developed their own versions. The pinnacle of calculator design was the exquisite 1977 ET44, by Germany\'s Braun.

第三段继续介绍袖珍计算器在1970s的发展。

Culturally, the product peaked in 1981 when the German electro band Kraftwerk released a single titled "Pocket Calculator." "I am adding and subtracting," run the lyrics. "I\'m controlling and composing. By pressing down a special key, it plays a little melody."

第四段讲袖珍计算器在1981年的新发展。

As personal computers flooded onto the market in the 1980s, calculators, pocket-size and otherwise, seemed steadily less appealing. Clive Sinclair had already turned his attention to other inventions, starting with computing. By the middle of the decade, he moved on to transportation with the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle, which was designed with a single seat but no roof.

第五段讲计算机的普及对袖珍计算器发展的影响。

The pocket calculator is a victim of "Moore\'s Law," the theory that the number of transistors that can be squeezed onto a microchip will roughly double every two years, increasing computing power at the same rate.

Even tiny digital devices have become so powerful that they can fulfill the functions of numerous products. Like any other product whose function can be replicated by an app, the pocket calculator is threatened with extinction. Digital devices fulfill their function just as effectively, and are more convenient because they do so many other things too.

最后两段讲袖珍计算器的发展受到同类电子产品发展的威胁，有面临消亡的危险。

题目：

1. 细节题，考察全文首段强对比细节。

2. 细节题，这类介绍事物发展进程的文章中first, introduce等引出的细节往往是考点。考生定位全文第二段即可。

3. 细节题，定位第三段，考察比较细节。

4. 细节题，考生可利用对大写人名这类专有名词的敏感度迅速定位。

5. 细节题，考察比较细节。考生可定位文章最后一段解题。