A
Three men have had a big influence on modern sound and communication technologies.We started with the beginnings of computer-generated music.
Max Vernon Mathews
Max Vernon Mathews has been called the father of computer music.He created electronic tools so that people could use computers, as musical instruments.He had a huge influence on the development of electronic music and how it is written, recorded and played.In 1957, Max wrote the first: computer program, Music,to enable a computer to create sound and play it back. The computer was so slow that it would have taken an hour to play the piece of music. in seventeen seconds.For that reason,Mathews moved the work to a tape player, which could be sped up to play the music at a normal speed.
Mathews continued creating other versions of the Music program.He became interested in how computers could help musicians outside recording studios.The Groove program he developed was the first computer program made for live performances.
Norio Ohga
Sony Corporation official Norio Ohga helped to develop, the compact disc in the late 1970s.
He pushed for CDs to be larger, and with a longer playing time.He wanted them to hold seventy-five minutes so that they could store all of Bcethoven's Ninth Symphony on one disc.This way, listeners could enjoy the musical work without any break.The compact disc changed the electronics industry and the way people listened to music.
Hubert Joseph Schlafly
Hubert Joseph Schlafly was an electrical engineer who helped change the way actors, politicians and other people speak on television.In 1950, he and two other men developed the teleprompter.One co-worker, Fred Barton, was an actor.He had an idea for a tool that would help television actors read their lines without having to memorize them.The first teleprompter involved a person who turned a long plece of paper printed with tall letters, As the actor read the lines, another person would, move the paper ahead on the device.Later versions used television screens to show the words that were to be read.
1. Why did Mathews give up using computers to create sound and play it back?
A. Because he wanted to use computers as musical instruments.
B. Because he couldn’t create sound on computers.
C. Because he wanted to enjoy musical work without any break.
D. Because he wanted to find better ways to create sound with modern technologies.
2. What's the meaning of the underlined word teleprompter?
A. 投影仪 B. 电子提词机
C. 屏蔽仪 D. 显示屏
3. From the writing, we can learn that________.
A. Mathews' first computer program could play the music at a normal speed
B. the Groove program was the first computer program made for live performances by Hubert Joseph Schlafly.
C. owing to Norio Ohga, people can enjoy all of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on one disc.
D. only Hubert Joscph Schlafly and Fred Barton worked together to develop the prompter.
【答案】1. D 2. B 3. C
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了三个人对现代音响和通讯技术产生的重大影响。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据Max Vernon Mathews中的 The computer was so slow that it would have taken an hour to play the piece of music in seventeen seconds.For that reason, Mathews moved the work to a tape player, which could be sped up to play the music at a normal speed.“电脑太慢了，播放一段17秒内的音乐需要一个小时。出于这个原因，马修斯把作品搬到了一台磁带播放器上，这可以对其进行加速，以正常速度播放音乐。”可知，Mathews放弃了用电脑创造并播放它，是因为他想找到更好的方法用现代技术创造声音。故选D项。
【2题详解】
词义猜测题。根据 Huber Joseph Schlafly的描述One co-worker, Fred Barton, was an actor.He had an idea for a tool that would help television actors read their lines without having to memorize them.“他的一个同事弗莱德·巴顿是个演员。他想到了一个工具，可以帮助电视演员读台词而不需要记住台词。”可知 ，“在1950年，他和另外两个人发明了提词机。”由此推知，teleprompter的意思为“电子提词机”。故选B项。
【3题详解】
推理判断题。根据Co M Norio Ohga 中的He pushed for CDs to be larger, and with a longer playing time.He wanted them to hold seventy-five minutes so that they could store all of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on one disc.“他极力要求CDs的尺寸更大，播放时间更长。他想让他们保持75分钟，这样他们就可以把贝多芬的第九交响曲全部存储在一张唱片上。”可知，从文章中，我们可以了解到，由于Norio Ohga，人们可以在一张唱片上欣赏贝多芬的第九交响曲。故选C项。
