2020考研英语阅读理解精读100篇：Unit 24

Unit 24

As the music industry searches for a new model in the age of digital distribution and internet piracy, it is getting a helping hand from an unexpected quarter: video games such as “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band”, which let people play along to songs on simplified imitation instruments. “These games are revitalising the industry,” says Aram Sinnreich, an industry expert at New York University. “They’re helping as both a revenue and an advertising platform.”

The main impact of the games is to provide exposure. Inclusion of their music in these popular games has allowed previously obscure bands to achieve international fame, and veteran musicians to blast the ears of a new generation. According to Activision Blizzard, the video-game giant behind “Guitar Hero III”, bands whose songs are included in the game can expect online sales of their music to increase by an average of 300% as a result. “We’re definitely in demand—we’re constantly being pitched by artists and management,” says Paul DeGooyer, senior vice-president of games and music at MTV, which publishes “Rock Band”. As well as increasing sales, having a song in his game also boosts a band’s overall fame and popularity. “We’re providing a new outlet for people to experience music,” he says.

One beneficiary has been Dragonforce, a British speed-metal band that rose to fame after their song “Through the Fire and Flames” was included as the hardest track in “Guitar Hero III”. Its difficulty has inspired many players to post videos of themselves playing the song online. Chris Brown, who is in charge of the band’s marketing, says the track had sold 55,000 copies online before the game’s release in October 2007. “Now we’re up to 624,000. Guitar Hero has really opened up our music to the mainstream,” says Mr Brown.

Established artists are also using the games to promote their music. Bobby Kotick, Activision’s boss, says Aerosmith have made more money from “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith”, a version of the video-game that features the band, than from any of their albums. Mr Kotick has even suggested that rather than expecting games companies to pay to license their music, bands should pay to have their music included in games. Motley Crue released a new single via “Rock Band” in April, and in September Metallica’s new album “Death Magnetic” was made available as a download for “Guitar Hero” on the day of its release. （Fans have pointed out that the video-game version actually sounds better than the album.） Such in-game downloads are typically sold for $2 per song, twice as much as the music alone fetches on iTunes, the leading online-music store.

But will it last? Bob Lefsetz, a veteran industry figure, speculates that music games, which burst onto the scene in 2005, could burn out just as quickly. Teenagers already like classic rock anyway, he says, so the games will not greatly expand the market. “The music business is looking for any good news. These games aren’t going to save it.”

注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2002年真题Text 3。

1. The main problem faced by the music industry is ______.

A) the unexpected competition from video games

B) it needs to find a new business model for long-term development

C) it is severely threatened by online piracy

D) it fails to catch up with the technological development of digital distribution

2. It can be inferred from the text that ______.

A) all the bands with their music included in video games can gain popularity

B) the major influence of video games on the music industry is increasing revenue

C) artists and managers try to find the best music bands from video games

D) inspiring interaction with game players can increase a band’s fame

3. Bobby Kotick, Activision’s boss, believes that ______.

A) he has already established a new business model for the music industry

B) music in video games should also be downloadable on the internet

C) there should be difference between the video-game and album versions of a song

D) video games should charge bands but not the other way around

4. We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that ______.

A) the collaboration between video games and the music industry might be a flash in the pan

B) the video game model is the last gasp of the deteriorating music industry

C) rock music is not exactly the reason why the bands succeed in video games

D) the music business is still looking for greater music

5. From the text we can see that the writer’s attitude toward the collaboration seems ______.

A) objective

B) positive

C) pessimistic

D) indifferent

篇章剖析

本文主要介绍了音乐产业的一种新经营模式——将摇滚乐与电子游戏相结合。文章第一段简要介绍了这种新模式；第二段指出这种模式的优点；第三段和第四段结合实例，具体介绍了乐队是如何从游戏中获益的；最后一段对这一经营模式的前景做了简单讨论。

词汇注释

revitalise /riːˈvaɪtəlaɪz/ v. 使复活，使复兴

obscure /əbˈskjʊə/ adj. 无名的，微贱的

veteran /ˈvetərən/ n. 经验丰富的人

pitch /pɪtʃ/ v. 为…确定标准，定调

outlet /ˈaʊtlet/ n. 途径,方法

beneficiary /ˌbenɪˈfɪʃəri/ n. 受益人，受惠者

speculate /ˈspekjʊleɪt/ v. 推测，猜测

难句突破

As the music industry searches for a new model in the age of digital distribution and internet piracy, it is getting a helping hand from an unexpected quarter: video games such as “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band”, which let people play along to songs on simplified imitation instruments.

主体句式：it is getting a helping hand from an unexpected quarter.

结构分析：本句结构比较复杂。句子开头是一个由as引导的状语从句，其主体结构是the music industry searches for a new model。主句冒号后面的内容是对quarter的具体说明，而which引导的非限制性定语从句进一步说明了这些游戏的特点。

句子译文：在当前这个数字发行和网络盗版猖獗的时代，音乐行业正在探索新的经营模式，他们出乎意料地得到了电子游戏“吉他英雄”和“摇滚乐队”的帮助。这类游戏可以让人们使用简化的模拟乐器来跟随歌曲演奏。

题目分析

1. B 细节题。文章第一段第一句话指出“在当前这个数字发行和网络盗版猖獗的时代，音乐行业正在探索新的经营模式”，可见问题在于音乐行业如何找到一个持续发展的新模式，因此B是最佳答案。A显然与文意不符，是错误选项。C和D选项都是引起这一问题的原因之一，而不是问题本身。

2. D 推理题。本题的对应信息主要集中在文章第二段和第三段。虽然这两段中举了很多例子说明游戏如何使乐队成名，但是并没有说歌曲被编入游戏的所有乐队都收到了同样的效果，因此A不正确。第二段第一句就指出游戏对音乐的主要影响在于“exposure”，后文也说明了收入增加只是一方面，知名度提高也是重要影响，因此B也不正确。C选项中提到的关于音乐人和管理者的信息与原文并不吻合，因此C也是错误的。而文章第三段指出Dragonforce的一首高难度乐曲引起了在线玩家的兴趣，从中可以推断，这种知名度的提高来自于鼓励和激发与游戏玩家的互动，因此D是正确选项。

3. D 细节题。文章第四段提到“科蒂克先生甚至提议，乐队不应该指望游戏公司来购买音乐使用许可，而是应该主动付钱给游戏公司，使自己的音乐可以用于游戏中。”D正好符合这一信息，是正确答案。A选项的表述在文章中没有对应信息，即科蒂克先生没有提到关于经营模式的问题。B和C选项则都与科蒂克无关。

4. A 推理题。从文章第五段介绍了鲍勃·拉弗塞特兹，他认为游戏并不能拯救音乐产业，也就是这两个产业的合作不会有好前景，只会是昙花一现，因此A是正确答案。其他三个选项都没有提及。

5. A 情感态度题。从全文看来，作者基本上没有表露自己的观点，较为客观地陈述了整个事件。尽管文章最后态度较为悲观，但也是在引用别人的观点，并不是作者自己的态度。由此可见，作者对此问题持客观态度，正确答案为A。

参考译文

在当前这个数字发行和网络盗版猖獗的时代，音乐行业正在探索新的经营模式，他们出乎意料地得到了电子游戏“吉他英雄”和“摇滚乐队”的帮助。这类游戏可以让人们使用简化的模拟乐器来跟随歌曲演奏。纽约大学音乐行业专家亚拉姆·辛莱赫指出：“这些游戏正在复兴音乐行业，不仅能带来收入，同时还是广告宣传的平台。”

这些游戏的主要影响就是能够增加曝光率。流行游戏中的音乐能够使之前不太出名的乐队成为国际明星，也能使年轻一代对老牌乐手的歌耳熟能详。“吉他英雄III”的幕后电子游戏巨头“动视暴雪”公司宣称，如果哪个乐队的歌曲被编入游戏，他们的在线销量平均可增加3倍。发行“摇滚乐队”游戏的MTV公司游戏与音乐部高级副总裁保罗·德古冶尔说：“毫无疑问，我们的销路很好——我们总是由音乐人和管理者来不断调整定位。”歌曲被编入游戏的乐队不仅销量增加，同时其知名度和流行程度也得到提升。他说：“我们正为人们提供一种体验音乐的新途径。”

英国速度金属乐队“Dragonforce（龙的力量）”就是受益者之一，他们的《穿过燃烧与火焰》被列为“吉他英雄III”中最难的一首曲子，乐队也因此声名鹊起。在高难度的刺激下，许多玩家把自己演奏的视频发到了网上。负责“Dragonforce”乐队营销的克里斯·布朗透露，游戏的发布时间是2007年10月，在此之前，这首单曲的在线销量是55,000。他说：“而现在我们销量攀升到了624,000。是吉他英雄把我们的音乐引入主流。”

著名音乐人也用游戏来宣传自己的作品。动视暴雪的总裁博比·科蒂克说，吉他英雄发行了空中铁匠专版，乐队从这版电子游戏中获得的收入比从任何专辑赚到的都多。科蒂克先生甚至提议，乐队不应该指望游戏公司来购买音乐使用许可，而是应该主动付钱给游戏公司，使自己的音乐可以用于游戏中。4月，克鲁小丑乐队通过“摇滚乐队”游戏发布了一首新单曲，9月，金属乐队的新专辑《致命吸引力》在发布当天就可以在“吉他英雄”游戏上下载。（歌迷甚至说这首歌的电子游戏版本听起来竟然比专辑版还要好。）这种游戏内下载的价格一般是每首歌2美元，比从在线音乐巨头iTunes下载音乐要贵一倍。

但是这种情况会持续下去吗？据经验丰富的业内人士鲍勃·拉弗塞特兹推测，音乐游戏虽然在2005年异军突起，但可能只是昙花一现。他说，青少年已经是经典摇滚的乐迷了，所以游戏不会大幅拓宽市场。“音乐产业正在寻求希望。这些游戏并不能拯救它。”