2. 外语
  3. The telecity is a city whose life, direction, and functioning are largely shaped by telecommunications. In the twenty-first cent

The telecity is a city whose life, direction, and functioning are largely shaped by telecommunications. In the twenty-first cent

admin2011-03-22  61
问题 The telecity is a city whose life, direction, and functioning are largely shaped by telecommunications. In the twenty-first century, cities will be based more and more on an economy that is dependent on services and intellectual property. Telecommunications and information networks will define a city’s architecture, shape, and character. Proximity in the telecity will be defined by the speed and bandwidth of networks as much as by geographical propinquity. In the age of the telecity, New York and Singapore may be closer than, say, New York and Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
   Telecities will supersede megacities for several reasons, including the drive toward clean air, reducing pollution, energy conservation, more jobs based on services, and coping with the high cost of urban property. Now we must add the need to cope with terrorist threats in a high-technology world.
   Western mindsets were clearly jolted in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and attacks in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. But the risks posed by twentieth-century patterns of urbanization and architecture have yet to register fully with political figures and leaders of industry. The Pentagon, for example, has been rebuilt in situation rather than distributed to multiple locations and connected by secure landlines and broadband wireless systems.  Likewise, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center complex still represents a massive concentration of humanity and infrastructure. This is a remarkably short-sighted and dangerous vision of the future.
   The security risks, economic expenses, and environmental hazards of over-centralization are everywhere, and they do not stop with skyscrapers and large governmental structures. There are risks also at seaports and airports, in food and water supplies, at nuclear power plants and hydro-electric turbines at major dams, in transportation systems, and in information and communications systems.
   This vulnerability applies not only to terrorist threats but also to human error, such as system-wide blackouts in North America in August 2003 and in Italy in September 2003, and natural disasters such as typhoons, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. Leaders and planners are only slowly becoming aware that over-centralized facilities are the most vulnerable to attack or catastrophic destruction.
   There is also growing awareness that new broadband electronic systems now allow governments and corporations to safeguard their key assets and people in new and innovative ways. So far, corporations have been quickest to adjust to these new realities, and some governments have begun to adjust as well.
According to the author, the most active advocates of telecities are ______.
选项 A、leaders and planners
B、urban architects
C、some corporations
D、government administrators
答案C
解析 推论题，参见文章最后一段末句：So far, corporations have been quickest to adjust to these new realities, and some governments have begun to adjust as well. 其大意是，迄今为止，一些公司迅速调整结构，转向这些新的现实，一些政府也开始了调整。由此可知，一些公司是telecity的最积极倡导者，故正确答案为C。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/nFxd777K
本试题收录于： 公共英语四级笔试题库公共英语（PETS）分类
0

公共英语四级笔试

公共英语（PETS）

相关试题推荐
随机试题
最新回复(0)