2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 41

Unit 41

As he lays out his vision for the future of open-source software, Mark Shuttleworth is enthusiastic, but he looks tired. He has been up late negotiating yet another deal as part of his mission to bring open source to a wider audience. A successful South African entrepreneur during the dotcom era, he wants open-source advocates to lose their religion and concentrate on ease-of-use instead. And he is putting his money where his mouth is. Since 2004, he has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project, which makes a user-friendly version of Linux, the open-source operating system. Ubuntu is a Zulu and Xhosa term that roughly means “universal bond of sharing between humans”. Ubuntu’s slogan is “Linux for human beings”, and it is aimed at mainstream computer users. For although Linux is popular on servers, it is not, so far, used on many desktops.

In part that is because open-source software tends to polarise opinion. It has many critics who suspect that software written by idealistic guys, and made available free to anyone who wants to download it, must be some kind of communist plot. Zealous believers, meanwhile, long for open source to triumph over the evil empires of commercial software. This clash is often depicted as an epic struggle between Linux and Microsoft’s proprietary Windows operating system. But the truth is that most computer users do not know or care about the politics of open-source software. Mr Shuttleworth says most people simply want to read their e-mail, browse the web and so on.

“It’s very easy to declare victory,” says Mr Shuttleworth, describing the conceited attitude of some open-source supporters. “There are big chunks of the software world that depend on free software.” But Ubuntu’s aim is not to conquer the software establishment and replace its products. Rather than seeing open-source software as one of two competing ideologies and focusing on the struggle, Ubuntu thinks about the user. Ubuntu is a complete bundle of software, from operating system to applications and programming tools, that is updated every six months and, says Mr Shuttleworth, will always be free. Taking the debate out of open source is intended to move adoption beyond politically motivated enthusiasts and encourage mass adoption of the software on its merits.

It is a bold scheme, but Mr Shuttleworth is not a man to think small. He was raised in a suburb of Cape Town, an unlikely place from which to join the internet revolution. Yet that was his goal from the day he first used a web browser. When he saw that the internet was switching from a text-based to a graphical medium, “I sensed that everything was going to change,” he says. He spent a couple of years looking for the right way to get involved, given his situation. “I had to find something to do that was cutting-edge, without requiring much bandwidth or venture capital,” he says. He succeeded handsomely by setting up a company, Thawte, that made digital certificates and security software to support internet commerce. He sold the firm for over $500m to VeriSign in 1999, near the peak of the dotcom boom.

注（1）：本文選自Economist；

注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象為2004年真題Text 3。

1. By the word “religion”（Line 4, Paragraph 1）, the author means _______.

A) Christianity

B) religious advocation

C) mysterious thoughts

D) crazy belief

2. How does the author feel about the Ubuntu project?

A) Objective.

B) Optimistic.

C) Discouraged.

D) Confused.

3. When mentioning “Mr Shuttleworth is not a man to think small” （Line 1, Paragraph 4） the author means _______.

A) Mr Shuttleworth does not look small

B) Mr Shuttleworth is very ambitious

C) Mr Shuttleworth does not like to think about small projects

D) Mr Shuttleworth only cares about important and great things

4. What is the difference between Mr Shuttleworth and some zealous open-source advocates?

A) Mr Shuttleworth focuses on the popularity and mass applicability of the open-source software.

B) Mr Shuttleworth intends to arouse the public awareness of the political controversy on open-source.

C) Zealous advocates only care about the political fight against Microsoft’s commercial operating systems.

D) Zealous advocates are not aware of the open-source merits in terms of everyday use.

5. Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of the Ubuntu software?

A) It is free to download from Internet and is updated regularly.

B) It is user-oriented and can therefore be used with ease.

C) It tends to replace the current commericial software.

D) It can be used by anyone who has access to Internet.

篇章剖析

本文是一篇說明文，主要講述了南非富商馬克·沙特爾沃思在普及開源軟件的努力。第一段簡要介紹了沙特爾沃思希望普及開源軟件的想法和他的Ubuntu項目；第二段筆鋒一轉(zhuǎn)，討論了對于開源軟件的兩種截然不同的觀點；第三段中沙特爾沃思辨析和闡述了他堅持自己信念和項目的理由；第四段簡要介紹了沙特爾沃思產(chǎn)生支持開源軟件想法的原因。

詞匯注釋

advocate /??dv?k?t/ n. 提倡者，鼓吹者

bond /b?nd/ n. 結(jié)合，聯(lián)結(jié)

polarise /?p?ul?ra?z/ v. 使兩極分化

zealous /?zel?s/ adj. 熱心的，狂熱的

triumph /?tra??mf/ v. 獲得勝利

clash /kl??/ n. 沖突

conceited /k?n?si?t?d/ adj. 自以為是的，傲慢的

chunk /t???k/ n. 相當(dāng)大的數(shù)量

bundle /?b?ndl/ n. 捆，束，包

adoption /??d?p??n/ n. 采用

bold /b??ld/ adj. 大膽的

scheme /ski?m/ n. 安排，配置，計劃

cutting-edge /?k?ti??ed?/ adj. 前沿的

bandwidth /?b?ndw?dθ/ n. 精力

難句突破

Since 2004, he has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project, which makes a user-friendly version of Linux, the open-source operating system.

主體句式：He has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project.

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：本句中which引導(dǎo)的定語從句，用來修飾前面提到的Ubuntu project。最后的短語是一個同位語，用來解釋說明什么是Linux。

句子譯文：自從2004年以來，他一直以個人財產(chǎn)資助Ubuntu項目，該項目致力于為開源操作系統(tǒng)Linux開發(fā)一個更加便于用戶使用的版本。

題目分析

1. D 語義題。這篇文章與宗教無關(guān)，所以此處的religion是一種引申義和比喻義，即有一些開源軟件的支持者們對于開源軟件有一種宗教般地瘋狂崇拜，而他們并不關(guān)心怎么樣把開源軟件簡單化，從而使得大眾都能夠使用。因此答案為D。

2. A 情感態(tài)度題。作者在本文中的分析態(tài)度是相當(dāng)客觀的，既闡述了反對者的想法，也擺出了支持者沙特爾沃思的辯解，而作者本人并沒有發(fā)表個人見解。

3. B 語義題。從上下文來看，盡管Ubuntu項目的整體計劃看上去非常大膽，但是顯然沙特爾沃思是信心十足的，他并不是那種輕易認(rèn)輸?shù)娜?，也就是說他是非常雄心勃勃的。

4. A 細(xì)節(jié)題。文章全篇的重點都在談?wù)摰囊粋€重要話題就是，開源軟件的支持者們癡迷的是這種軟件本身以及與商用軟件的斗爭，而沙特爾沃思的關(guān)注點則是在于如何讓更多的大眾方便地使用這款軟件。

5. C 細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第三段談到了Ubuntu軟件包的一些特點，它可以免費下載、面向公眾，而且每六個月更新一次。更重要的是，它不像Linux一樣只是在服務(wù)器上非常流行，而是把目標(biāo)放在廣大普通用戶上，因而A、B和D選項是正確的。C錯誤的原因在于沙特爾沃思從來不打算要用Ubuntu替代商業(yè)軟件。

參考譯文

當(dāng)展望開源軟件的未來時，馬克·沙特爾沃思熱情十足，但是他看起來非常疲憊。他最近正在為另一樁生意談判，這也是他立志要把開源帶給更多人的使命的一部分。作為一名在信息時代成功的南非企業(yè)家，他希望開源倡導(dǎo)者們能放棄他們的盲目崇拜，而把精力集中到如何使開源軟件更加方便地為人們使用上來。他自己也把錢都投在他說的這些事情上。自從2004年以來，他一直以個人財產(chǎn)資助Ubuntu項目，該項目致力于為開源操作系統(tǒng)Linux開發(fā)一個更加便于用戶使用的版本。Ubuntu是一個祖魯語和科薩語的術(shù)語，大意就是“在人類之間分享的廣泛聯(lián)系”。Ubuntu項目的口號是“為全人類服務(wù)的Linux”，其目標(biāo)人群是主流電腦使用者。這是因為盡管Linux在服務(wù)器上非常流行，但到目前為止卻很少為臺式機(jī)所使用。

這部分是因為開源軟件會使人們的觀點分為兩個極端。許多批評家懷疑這種由理想主義者設(shè)計、任何人都可以下載使用的軟件一定是一種共產(chǎn)主義的陰謀。同時，那些開源軟件的狂熱支持者卻渴盼開源能夠最終戰(zhàn)勝商業(yè)軟件的邪惡帝國。人們經(jīng)常把這一沖突描繪成Linux和微軟擁有版權(quán)的視窗操作系統(tǒng)之間史詩般的斗爭。但是事實上，大部分電腦使用者都不知道或者不關(guān)心關(guān)于開源軟件的政治斗爭。沙特爾沃思說，大部分人在電腦上想做的事情只不過是收發(fā)電子郵件、瀏覽網(wǎng)頁等等。

“我們很容易就可以宣布勝利，”沙特爾沃思先生在談及一些開源支持者的偏見時說道，“軟件世界的很大一部分都取決于免費軟件?！钡荱buntu項目的目的不是征服已有的軟件世界并以其他產(chǎn)品取而代之。Ubuntu并不把開源軟件看成是兩種計算機(jī)理念的一種，也不關(guān)注其中的斗爭，Ubuntu只是在為客戶考慮。沙特爾沃思先生介紹道，Ubuntu是一組完整的軟件包，包括操作系統(tǒng)和各種應(yīng)用及編程工具，每六個月更新一次，而且永遠(yuǎn)都是免費的。讓開源遠(yuǎn)離斗爭，讓開源不僅僅是一些有政治目的的狂熱者的話題，而把重點放在鼓勵大眾都充分利用這種軟件的價值。

這是一個大膽的計劃，但是我們不可以小看沙特爾沃思先生。他成長于開普敦的郊區(qū)，那是一個并不像是能夠參與到互聯(lián)網(wǎng)革命的地方。但是從他使用網(wǎng)頁瀏覽器的第一天開始，他就給自己立了這個目標(biāo)。當(dāng)他看到原先基于文本的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)向圖像媒體轉(zhuǎn)移的時候，“我感到事情將要開始變化了，”他說。在那種情形下，他花了幾年的時間尋找如何介入這一領(lǐng)域的最佳方式。“我想找一些最前沿的東西來做，而不用花很多的精力或投機(jī)資本，”他說道。他成功地成立了一家名為Thawte的公司，致力于制作數(shù)碼證書和安全軟件，從而支持網(wǎng)絡(luò)商務(wù)。1999年，信息泡沫時代發(fā)展接近高峰的時期，他以5億美元的價格將該公司賣給了VeriSign。