Compact Disks

If someone says to you your music CDs don't really hold any music on them, and they only have numbers recorded on them, you may not believe it. In fact, he is right in that sound is actually recorded onto the CDs as special numbers — a digital code.1 The code is pressed onto the CD as bumps on a long spiral track almost five kilometers long. These bumps are an average of 0.5 microns wide.

A small laser beam shines onto the bumps as the CD turns. The light is reflected back to a receiver that records how the laser light bounces back. This lets the CD player2 turn the reflected light back into the original code. This means you can hear the original code as music.

Digital codes are used with many technologies. E-mail needs these kinds of code numbers. Space probes communicate with their ground station on earth using digital codes. Bar codes are read as digital codes in computer systems. Digital communications with cell phones need digital codes. Weather radios also tune into specific signals using these codes.

There are many types of compact disks. One format is called CD-RWs. They can be recorded on and re-recorded on(rewritten on)as you would do with a floppy disk3. Another format is the CD-ROM. The technology for recording on these disks is different from other CDs. These CDs have a dye layer that the CD writer can darken or leave clear. The clear and dark spots are the digital code. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc — Read Only Memory4. This disk is like a "super" floppy disk that can hold lots of information. One CD-ROM can hold the same amount of data as 500 floppy disks. Information is permanently recorded onto it. Computer games and other programs are considered to be CD-ROMs.

CDs were first sold to the public in 1982　These CDs still play well and sound fine. Current CDs are expected to last between 70 to 200 years. Of course, you can make sure your CDs last a long time by taking care of them.

Science keeps on developing. It may not be many more years before a completely new technology is invented5 and introduced to the public for music recording. In the meantime, there is no doubt you will continue to enjoy listening to your favorite music on CDs6 and playing your favorite computer games on CD-ROMs.

41 Music is recorded onto CDs as

A laser beams

B digital codes

C musical notes

D special sounds

42 E-mail is mentioned in the third paragraph to show

A the variety of digital communications

B the development of new technologies

C the usefulness of digital codes

D the relationship between communication and technology

43 One of the differences between CD-RWs and CD-ROMs is

A CD-ROMs can be used for longer time

B CD-ROMs cannot be rewritten on

C CD-RWs hold more information

D CD-RWs are merely used for music recording

44 CDs can last a long time if

A they are seldom used

B they play well and sound fine

C their users take good care of them

D they are developed with new technology

45 It can be inferred from the passage that

A CD-ROMs are more expensive than other CDs

B new technology for music recording is being developed

C the author likes listening to music

D flppy disks are no longer in use

答案：BCBCC

（責任編輯：vstara）

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