《考研英语阅读理解100篇 基础版》第3章　信息技术类 Unit 41

As he lays out his vision for the future of open-source software，Mark Shuttleworth is enthusiastic，but he looks tired．He has been up late negotiating yet another deal as part of his mission to bring open source to a wider audience．A successful South African entrepreneur during the dotcom era，he wants open-source advocates to lose their religion and concentrate on ease-of-use instead．And he is putting his money where his mouth is．Since 2004，he has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project，which makes a user-friendly version of Linux，the open-source operating system. Ubuntu is a Zulu and Xhosa term that roughly means“universal bond of sharing between humans”．Ubuntu's slogan is“Linux for human beings”，and it is aimed at mainstream computer users．For although Linux is popular on servers，it is not，so far，used on many desktops. 
In part that is because open-source software tends to polarise opinion．It has many critics who suspect that software written by idealistic guys，and made available free to anyone who wants to download it，must be some kind of communist plot．Zealous believers，meanwhile，long for open source to triumph over the evil empires of commercial software．This clash is often depicted as an epic struggle between Linux and Microsoft's proprietary Windows operating system．But the truth is that most computer users do not know or care about the politics of open-source software．Mr Shuttleworth says most people simply want to read their e-mail，browse the web and so on. 
“It's very easy to declare victory,” says Mr Shuttleworth，describing the conceited attitude of some open-source supporters．“There are big chunks of the software world that depend on free software.” But Ubuntu's aim is not to conquer the software establishment and replace its products．Rather than seeing open-source software as one of two competing ideologies and focusing on the struggle，Ubuntu thinks about the user．Ubuntu is a complete bundle of software，from operating system to applications and programming tools，that is updated every six months and，says Mr Shuttleworth，will always be free．Taking the debate out of open source is intended to move adoption beyond politically motivated enthusiasts and encourage mass adoption of the software on its merits. 
It is a bold scheme，but Mr Shuttleworth is not a man to think small．He was raised in a suburb of Cape Town，an unlikely place from which to join the internet revolution．Yet that was his goal from the day he first used a web browser．When he saw that the internet was switching from a text-based to a graphical medium，“I sensed that everything was going to change,” he says．He spent a couple of years looking for the right way to get involved，given his situation．“I had to find something to do that was cutting-edge，without requiring much bandwidth or venture capital,” he says．He succeeded handsomely by setting up a company，Thawte，that made digital certificates and security software to support internet commerce．He sold the firm for over $500m to VeriSign in 1999，near the peak of the dotcom boom. 
注（1）：本文选自Economist； 
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 3。 
1．By the word“religion”（Line 4，Paragraph 1），the author means _______. 
A) Christianity 
B) religious advocation 
C) mysterious thoughts 
D) crazy belief 
2．How does the author feel about the Ubuntu project? 
A) Objective. 
B) Optimistic. 
C) Discouraged. 
D) Confused. 
3．When mentioning“Mr Shuttleworth is not a man to think small” （Line 1，Paragraph 4）the author means _______. 
A) Mr Shuttleworth does not look small 
B) Mr Shuttleworth is very ambitious 
C) Mr Shuttleworth does not like to think about small projects 
D) Mr Shuttleworth only cares about important and great things 
4．What is the difference between Mr Shuttleworth and some zealous open-source advocates? 
A) Mr Shuttleworth focuses on the popularity and mass applicability of the open-source software. 
B) Mr Shuttleworth intends to arouse the public awareness of the political controversy on open-source. 
C) Zealous advocates only care about the political fight against Microsoft's commercial operating systems. 
D) Zealous advocates are not aware of the open-source merits in terms of everyday use. 
5．Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of the Ubuntu software? 
A) It is free to download from Internet and is updated regularly. 
B) It is user-oriented and can therefore be used with ease. 
C) It tends to replace the current commericial software. 
D) It can be used by anyone who has access to Internet.