Hauling yourself up by the bootstraps has never been easy. But computers do this every time they are turned on-hence the verb "to boot". Booting a computer takes valuable time, compounded by the rebooting that is inevitably necessary whenever a computer freezes.

　　The reason that this process takes so long is that a computer's operating system must be loaded from its hard disk into its random-access memory (RAM) every time the machine is turned on. Unlike magnetic tapes or hard disks, RAM is an electric form of memory. It is, in effect, an array of tiny capacitors which, when charged, represent a binary "1" and, when not charged, represent a binary "o". This has allowed them to be much faster than magnetic memory, in which the binary digits ("bits") are represented by magnetically polarised regions rather than electric charges. The big problem with electric memory, however, is that it is volatile-the capacitors have to be recharged frequently so that they can continue to remember a"1". When a computer is turned off, they lose all the data stored in them.

　　The race has been on to build nonvolatile high-speed memories that will allow computers to be turned on and off like televisions. Whichever technology wins is almost certain to be used in all new computers, so the stakes are high. Motorola, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard are all developing magnetic RAM (MRAM) which seems poised to become the nonvolatile technology of choice. Both Motorola and IBM have announced plans to bring the technology to market within 18 months, advancing their initial target date of 2004. Besides turning instantly on, computers equipped with such chips would consume less power, making the technology ideal for satellites and portable gizmos.

　　MRAM works by etching a grid of criss-crossing wires on a chip in two layers-with the horizontal wires being placed just below the vertical wires. At each intersection, a "magnetic tunnel junction" (MTJ) is created that serves as a switch-and thus as a repository for a single bit of memory. The MTJ is essentially a small magnet whose direction is easily flipped. Common materials for the MTJ include chromium dioxide and iron-cobalt alloys.

　　Earlier this year, Motorola unveiled a prototype MRAM chip that stores 256 kilobits and has a cycle time for reading and writing data of less than 50 nanoseconds (billionths of a second). That puts it in the same league as conventional dynamiC-RAM (DRAM) chips. IBM, collaborating with Germany's Infineon Technologies, has developed a one megabit (million bit) MRAM chip at its laboratories in East Fishkill, New York.

　　There is still a long way to go before MRAM is ready for prime time. Neither IBM nor Motorola, for instance, is expected to go into mass production until they prove that they can make 256 megabit chips-the standard memory module used today. But, as total sales of computer memory in 2000 were estimated by Semico Research Corporation to have been worth $48 billion, manufacturers have a considerable incentive to ensure that MRAM becomes a serious challenger for DRAM'S crown.

　　注(1)：本文選自Economist; 9/22/2001, p8, 1/3p;

　　注(2)：本文習題命題模仿對象2004年真題Text 3;

　　1. By the word “volatile”(Line 7, Paragraph 2), the author means _________.

　　[A]difficult to start.

　　[B]slow running.

　　[C]time-consuming.

　　[D]easy to lose data.

　　2. How does the author feel about the future of MRAM?

　　[A]Optimistic.

　　[B]Discouraging.

　　[C]Confused.

　　[D]Indifferent.

　　3. When mentioning “the stakes are high”(Line 3, Paragraph 3) the author means

　　___________.

　　[A]the risks are very high

　　[B]the payments are very good

　　[C]the applications are very wide

　　[D]the users are very satisfied

　　4. Why are Motorola, IBM, and HP all developing MRAM?

　　[A]they are most likely to have big profits.

　　[B]there is a severe competition among them.

　　[C]turning-on computer takes too much time for their users.

　　[D]the working speed of the computer is so slow.

　　5. Which of the following is not the characteristic of the computer equipped with MRAM?

　　[A]instant turning-on and turning-off.

　　[B]less consumption of power.

　　[C]huge memory module

　　[D]lasting stored data.

　　答案：DABAC

　　篇章剖析

　　本文是一篇說明文，文章主要介紹了能夠達到瞬間開機的磁存儲器的開發(fā)原因、運做原理以及具體的研究及開發(fā)情況。第一段指出開機和關機花費時間;第二段分析其原因，把電存儲器和磁存儲器進行了對比;第三段指出這種磁存儲器的性能優(yōu)勢;第四段指出磁存儲器的運做原理;第五段指出這種磁存儲器的最新開發(fā)情況;最后一段指出磁存儲器的發(fā)展前景。

　　詞匯注釋

　　poise [pCiz] vt. 使(重量)相等, 使(保持)平衡, 使懸著;作(投標槍一樣的)姿勢; 使(頭等)保持一定姿勢[位置];仔細考慮; 使作好準備;使懸而不決, 猶豫, 躊躇

　　DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory的縮寫)動態(tài)隨機存取存儲器;[動態(tài)隨機接達記憶器]

　　a run for one’s money [口] 1. 激烈的競爭2. 出了錢(或力)而得到的滿足

　　haul [hC:l] vt. 拖, 拉, 曳;硬拖;強迫做硬拖強拉(特別用于審訊)

　　bootstrap [5bu:tstrAp] n. 引導程序;自舉技術(shù)[設備];【動】自舉,引導;[靴帶式;啟動程序]

　　boot [5bu:t] vt. n.啟動，引導

　　compound[5kRmpaJnd]v.使增加;增加

　　reboot [ri:5bu:t] vt. n. 重新啟動，重新引導

　　RAM=Random Access Memory 隨機存取存貯器

　　volatile [5vClEtail] adj. (液體等)揮發(fā)(性)的, 易發(fā)散的;輕快的, 輕浮的;易變的, 短暫的; 非永久性的;易失的(電源切斷后信息消失); 反復無常的

　　stake [steik] n. [pl.] 賭物; 賭金;[pl.]獎金[品];利害關系, 風險;(下在投機生意上的)股本[份]

　　of choice優(yōu)先選擇的，在同一類或同一組中比別的更受歡迎的，精選的

　　gizmo n. 小發(fā)明，新玩藝兒，小物件(忘記了名字、不知道名稱或不道出名稱時使用的詞)

　　grid [^rid] n. 格柵, 格子;【電】(蓄電池中的)鉛板;【無】柵極

　　etch [etF] vt, vi. (常與on, upon連用)(用酸在金屬上)蝕刻

　　criss-crossing n. 十字交叉形

　　magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) 磁隧道結(jié)

　　repository [rI5pRzItErI; (?@) -tC:rI] n. 貯藏室, 智囊團, 知識庫, 倉庫

　　flip vi.【非正式用語】翻轉(zhuǎn)，顛倒;突然轉(zhuǎn)向

　　chromium dioxide 二氧化鉻

　　Iron-Cobalt alloy鐵鈷合金

　　prime time n. 黃金時段，黃金時間(通常指晚間七時至11時電視觀眾最多的時段)

　　難句突破

　　Booting a computer takes valuable time, compounded by the rebooting that is inevitably necessary whenever a computer freezes.

　　主體句式：Booting a computer takes time …

　　結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句是一個簡單句�，F(xiàn)在分詞短語“booting a computer”做句子主語;“compounded”之前省去了“which is”;“by”的成分是伴隨狀語;“that”引導定語從句來修飾“rebooting”;“whenever”引導時間狀語從句。

　　句子譯文：啟動計算機要花費寶貴時間，但每當計算機死機后，重新啟動又是不可避免、絕對必要的，這就更花時間。

　　題目分析

　　1.答案為D，屬猜詞題。這是一個在文中出現(xiàn)頻率較高的單詞。第一段指出開機和關機花費時間;第二段分析其原因，把電存儲器和磁存儲器進行了對比：電存儲器比磁存儲器快，但是它的缺點是“it is volatile”，句子“When a computer is turned off, they lose all the data stored in them.”是對這個單詞做出的解釋。

　　2. 答案為A，屬情感態(tài)度題。原文對應信息是“But, as total sales of computer memory in 2000 were estimated by Semico Research Corporation to have been worth $48 billion, manufacturers have a considerable incentive to ensure that MRAM becomes a serious challenger for DRAM'S crown.”

　　3. 答案為B，屬推理判斷題。無論哪種技術(shù)取勝，該技術(shù)肯定會在所有新計算機里被采用，而且據(jù)Semico市場調(diào)研公司估計，2000年電腦內(nèi)存的總銷售額是480億美元，因此對于制造商來說，這是相當大的刺激因素來保證使MRAM成為代替DRAM的一個真正的挑戰(zhàn)者。

　　由此，我們可以說回報是相當高的。

　　4. 答案為A，屬事實細節(jié)題。原文對應信息是“But, as total sales of computer memory in 2000 were estimated by Semico Research Corporation to have been worth $48 billion, manufacturers have a considerable incentive to ensure that MRAM becomes a serious challenger for DRAM'S crown.”

　　5. 答案為C，屬事實細節(jié)題。從句子“Neither IBM nor Motorola, for instance, is expected to go into mass production until they prove that they can make 256 megabit chips-the standard memory module used today.”我們知道現(xiàn)在這些公司還不能生產(chǎn)出比標準模塊更大的內(nèi)存模塊，因此選項C是不對的，其它選項在文中都可找到對應信息。

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