Download
1 / 5
E N D
Background Information • IBM IBM, short form for International Business Machines Corporation, was set up in 1911 in the state of New York, USA. After the development of over 80 years, it now has operations in more than 160 countries with its headquarters in Armonk, New York, USA and has become the world’s largest information technology company, business and technology services provider, and IT financier. The company is engaged in the invention, development and manufacture of information technologies, including computer systems, software, storage systems and microelectronics, and provides professional solutions, services and consulting businesses to its customers worldwide. For more information, please visit http:// www. Ibm.com/us.
Analysis of the text structure • The text is about a modern woman’s life before and after she left home. So the text can be divided into two parts. • Part I: Para. 1 – Para. 2 The author introduces what happened before the “high-tech” woman left home. • Part 2: Para. 3 – Para. 6 The author deals with what happened after the woman left home.
Getting the message • 1. B From the sentence “Apart from being the time she used each day to keep fit, these fifteen minutes were the only chance she normally had to get herself organized” (Para. 1), we can tell that she usually thought about what things she had to deal with while exercising. • 2. A According to the text, she “went through the numbers”, then “checked her schedule”, “called up the person with whom she had her first meeting” and finally “got in contact with the motorway service department”. (Para. 5)
3. D From “She…reached into her bag for the one piece of equipment that she would go nowhere without. She opened it up and proceeded to put in a program card. On the small screen, a list of telephone numbers appeared” (Para. 5), we can tell she checked a small computer put in her bag. • 4. B According to the text, the mechanic couldn’t repair the car, as in “Sorry madam, I can’t help you! You don’t need a mechanic, you need a computer engineer from IBM!” (Para. 6). So it is not true that the car could be repaired right away.
5. C In the first part of the text, the author gives the readers an impression that the woman was leading a busy and efficient life. But in the second part, he shows us that just because the car had such a high-tech system the ordinary mechanic couldn’t repair it, the woman had to be delayed. So his real purpose is to show how smart appliances may drive people up the wall through the unhappy experience of the woman.
