第一部分：英语能力测试

一．阅读理解

资料1：

If you had awakened on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center and tried to figure out where you were, you might have first guessed the Conclave (秘密会议) of American Optimists．You would have seen 115,000 people buzzing with confidence and excitement．On the other hand, noting how many passers-by were loudly talking to themselves, you might have concluded that you had wandered into the International Expo of Eccentrics．Instead, it was the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show, also known as CES, held in Jan．9th –12th．No wonder those attending were happy.

First, of course, they were in their element, surrounded by the smallest and shiniest new gadgets (小配件)．Second, despite the gloom in other slices of the economy, sales of consumer electronics in the United States actually grew last year (to a record $96 billion)．This trade show of manufacturers, retailers and customers was alive with energy and crowded with exhibits.

The vitality of this exposition is a sign of the times．The interest and innovation in PCs is nothing next to the action in other realms of high tech．As proof, compare the show with what was once its big brother: Comdex, the personal-computer trade show held each November at the same site．Thanks to the severe decline in the PC industry, the 2002 Las Vegas Comdex was only half the size of its 2000 incarnation．

The 2,200 booths included lavish displays by Panasonic, Sony, Philips, Toshiba and other heavy hitters．But hundreds of smaller, quirkier companies were also present, exhibiting electric toothbrushes, illuminated cell-phone faceplates, laser pens and publications from Widescreen Review to Progressive Grocer．There were 46 exhibitors in the alarm-clock category alone, and even an electric-typewriter company.