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  3. More and more, it seems, the same tech tools we depend on to get through the day are often the source of our frustrations. Gadge

More and more, it seems, the same tech tools we depend on to get through the day are often the source of our frustrations. Gadge

admin2020-03-31  25
问题     More and more, it seems, the same tech tools we depend on to get through the day are often the source of our frustrations. Gadgets have gotten better: They do more, are smaller, and cost less. But they don’t work quite the way we want them to, do they? Text-messaging and camera-phone features that obscure access to your voice mail. Camcorder batteries that die in the middle of your sister’s wedding. The sick PC that sends copies of its virus to everyone in your e-mail address book.
    But there is reason for renewed hope. More companies are discovering that one key to reining in unruly tech is simplicity itself; that is, less is actually more. A few years ago, it seemed only a sprinkling of companies offered products that in their design emphasized ease of use and dependability over frilly, rarely used features. Now analysts report that whole industries—among them cellphones, consumer electronics, and, yes, even computers—seem to be shifting back to basics, with a few companies taking the lead. The downside to this switch for now is that simplicity and reliability oddly enough tend to cost extra. An Apple Macintosh, widely considered user-friendly, costs at least several hundred dollars more than a Windows-based PC. Verizon Wireless, rated by many the most reliable cellphone service, generally costs more than Sprint, Cingular, or T-Mobile. But that effective surcharge could fade if brand loyalty surges for companies that prioritize efficient, friendly design.
    So how did we go from the days of small, color TVs and bricklike mobile phones to high-definition home theaters and smart phones that are too clever by half? The blame for the personal tech mess goes both ways. Companies are eager to crank out new products with new features. It’s a quick way to get attention, distancing a product from competitors and dusting upstarts in a cutthroat arena. Shoppers, meanwhile, are routinely seduced by the new bells and whistles. Consumer electronics tend to be among the more expensive purchases people make during the year, so why not get the gizmo that does more? "We’re all trapped in an economic myth that more is better," says John Maeda, a media arts and sciences professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
    Haddon Fisher’s Motorola phone locks up a couple of times a day, says the Syracuse University sophomore. He has also had to put up with a PC that would spontaneously reboot while he slept or attended class. "You learn to live with a certain level of pain," he says. Such vexations, repeated across the country, have eroded confidence in tech manufacturers. A recent survey conducted for Royal Philips Electronics found that two thirds of American consumers have lost interest in a tech product because it looks too complex—and half think the manufacturers are just guessing at what will sell, rather than listening to their customers.
"Dusting upstarts in a cutthroat arena" in paragraph 3 means______.
选项 A、matching your competitors in the marketplace
B、introducing new features in gadgets that are on the market
C、defeating competitors in a competitive market
D、competing effectively with companies that introduce new, unnecessary features
答案C
解析 属语义题。第三段第三句指出：公司急于制造出具有新功能的新产品，这是一个快速吸引顾客注意力、与竞争对手拉开距离、在激烈的市场竞争中打败对手的办法。所以答案为C。A明显不对，因为“dusting upstarts in a cutthroat arena．”的前面已经说了与竞争对手拉开距离，所以不可能后面又说“赶上竞争对手”。B文中未提。D中的unnecessary明显不对。
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