英语听力短文

Times are changing, and not necessarily for the best. There was a time when parents who wanted an educational present for their children would buy a typewriter, a (1)

novel

or an encyclopedia set. Now those items seem hopelessly (2)

old-fashioned

; this Christmas, there were a lot of personal computers under the tree. People are becoming more and more (3)convinced that computers are the key to success. Parents are (4)insisting that children be taught to use them in school as early as possible.

The problem for schools is that (5)when it comes to computers, parents don't always know best. Many schools are (6)yielding to parental impatience and purchasing hardware. At the same time it is clear that these schools are not ready to have any web-based course with (7)sound educational planning.

All of this has made things difficult for teachers. Teachers find themselves caught in the middle of the problem, (8)caught in a str. Educators do not even agree on how computers should be used. A lot of money has been put into research for computerized educational materials. The results show (9)it is not neces. Many people are trying to convince parents of this problem.

(10)have access to to the very young.

What does Microsoft do?

Microsoft is the world's second largest company by (1)market value. It provides the (2)operating system for 80 percent of the world's personal computers. Microsoft's operating system is (3)dominant throughout the world.

Any software needs to be (4)compatible with the operating system for it to work.

The company also produces a (5)range of software products, such as Word and Excel. These products run (6)smoothly on the Windows operating system.

Many software writers have tended to write for Microsoft rather than for its (7) rivals

such as Apple. Those people who end up working for other companies, then, tend to be less qualified. This makes it even harder for these other companies to compete.

This dominance also feeds through to PC manufacturers (8)who decide to.

What does Microsoft say?

The company says that (9)it faces a grea. It has had to do such things as giving certain programs away for free in order to be popular with the public.

(10)the of the inte means Microsoft does not have a monopoly (垄断) position, it says.

A few years ago, my friend and I were walking (S1) (1)at noon on a street near my home in a northern (S2) (2)section of Teheran. This area is well-known because it is a beautiful avenue that (S3) (3)connects two major traffic circles. It is located at the (S4) (4)bottom of a high mountain.

That day, the sun was (S5) (5)shining, but the weather suddenly changed. (S6) (6)

As

we were walking between the two circles, it started raining very hard. We started to (S7) (7)cross the boulevard to get to the second circle. It was raining so hard that we decided to go inside a restaurant instead. (S8) (8)Ten minutes lat At first, we did not know what was going on. We went outside the restaurant to see what was happening. People seemed shocked.

(S9) (9) A huge flood wa We were scared. Cars, rocks, and people were floating on the water like little toys toward the little market at the south end of the circle. The height of the water was almost to the top of the trees.

After a few minutes, the flood’s flow was reduced, so we decide d to leave the area before the water entered the street we were on.

(S10) (10)It was reported Later, we also learned that a dam had burst as the rain started.