Question

Today, there's hardly an aspect of our life that isn't being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail．"If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology," says Microsoft, "a new car would cost about $ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas．And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza．"

Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers．Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year．"We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend," says Merrill Lynch, "along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity．"

You would be hard pressed to name something that isn't available on the Internet．Consider: books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets． And even after you've moved on to your final resting place, there's no reason those you love can't keep in touch．A company called Final Thoughts．com offers a place for you to store "afterlife e-mails" you can send to Heaven with the help of a "guardian angel"．

Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable （能預(yù)測的） future．Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation．Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet．Most kids use computers to play games （some for 30 hours or more a week）, and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left．

What's clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back．"The Internet is just 20% invented," says cyber pioneer Jake Winebaum．'The last 80% is happening now．"

56．What can we learn from the Microsoft's remark?

       A．Today's cars and airplanes are extremely overpriced．

       B．Information technology is developing at an amazing speed．

       C．Information technology has reached the point where improvement is impossible．

       D．There is less competition in information technology industry than in car industry．

57．The author gives the example of Final Thoughts．com to make the point that ____．

       A．a(chǎn)lmost anything is available on the Internet

       B．there are some clever ideas on the Internet'

       C．people can find good bargains on the Internet

       D．some websites provide novel services to increase hits

58．What is the message the author intends to convey?

       A．The Internet is going to get firm hold of our lives some day．

       B．The Internet is going to influence our lives even more in the future．

       C．Children should be well prepared for the challenges in the information age．

       D．We should have a positive attitude towards the changes the Internet brings about．

Answer 1

BAB