The history of the bar code

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题目与答案

1. **History of the bar code

   1948-1952 **

   Methods of recording information automatically were developed by Silver and Woodland.

   1st system:

   used ultraviolet light and a special type of 1_____ problems: expensive and not permanent

   答案：ink

   原文定位：Their first idea was to use patterns printed with an ink that would glow under ultraviolet light, and they built a device to test the concept. It worked, but the printing costs were high and the patterns faded over time

   同义替换：「expensive」↔「costs were high」，「not permanent」↔「faded over time」

2. 10 A committee set up in the 1970s said bar codes should be easy to use and not too expensive.
   • TRUE
   • FALSE
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：TRUE

   原文定位：At the heart of the committee's guidelines were a few basic principles. To make life easier for the cashier, bar codes would have to be readable from almost any angle and at a range of distances. Because they would be reproduced by the million, the labels would have to be cheap and easy to print. And to be affordable, automated checkout systems would have to pay for themselves in two and a half years

   同义替换：「not too expensive」↔「cheap」

3. 11 Alan Haberman disagreed with government policies on business matters.
   • TRUE
   • FALSE
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：NOT GIVEN

   原文定位：He recalls proudly. 'We showed that it could be done on a massive scale, that cooperation... was possible for the common good, and that business didn't need the government to shove them in the right direction

4. 12 Many grocery outlets were unable to afford the necessary scanning equipment.
   • TRUE
   • FALSE
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：NOT GIVEN

   原文定位：Each of the tens of thousands of grocery outlets in the US had to spend at least $200,000 on new scanning equipment

   同义替换：「Many」↔「tens of thousands of」

5. 13 The advantages of the new bar-code scanner took some time to be accepted by users.
   • TRUE
   • FALSE
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：TRUE

   原文定位：The advantages of the system were not clear immediately, as wholesalers, retailers and customers remained suspicious. Some customers believed bar codes were a form of surveillance. During the early weeks Business Week magazine ran the headline 'The Supermarket Scanner That Failed'. However, the benefits eventually became apparent

   同义替换：「advantages」↔「benefits」，「took some time」↔「not clear immediately」，「to be accepted by users」↔「wholesalers, retailers and customers」

6. 2nd system:

   based on technology used in Morse Code and also for the 2_____ of films

   答案：soundtracks

   原文定位：After several months of work they came up with the linear bar code, using elements from two established technologies: Morse code, in which letters and numbers are coded into a system of dots and dashes, and the method used to record soundtracks in movies

   同义替换：「based on technology used in」↔「using elements from two established technologies」，「films」↔「movies」

7. problems: 3_____ and expensive

   答案：unreliable

   原文定位：Silver and Woodland patented the idea in 1952, describing their invention as 'article classification... through the medium of identifying patterns'. But the cost, together with the fact that their scanning equipment was rather unreliable, made the idea a non-starter at that time

8. 1970s

   Availability of cheaper 4_____ meant scanning technology spread more widely

   答案：lasers

   原文定位：Scanning systems made little progress until the 1970s, when lasers became affordable

   同义替换：「Availability of cheaper」↔「became affordable」，「meant scanning technology spread more widely」↔「Scanning systems made little progress until」

9. Problem: lack of 5_____ in code systems

   April 1973: committee agreed on one universal product code (UPC)

   June 1974: pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum sold with bar-code scanner

   答案：standardization

   原文定位：Following this, various systems came into use around the world in stores, libraries, factories, and the like, each with its own proprietary code, but there was no standardization

   同义替换：「lack of」↔「no」，「code systems」↔「own proprietary code」

10. Advantages of bar-code system:

    supermarkets needed to spend less on labour

    the 6_____ of checkouts increased

    doing inventories was much cheaper

    答案：speed

    原文定位：These included checking out items at twice the speed compared to using traditional equipment, which meant shorter lines

    同义替换：「Advantages of bar-code system」↔「the benefits eventually became apparent」，「increased」↔「twice the speed」

11. Present day

    Users of bar codes include retail companies, airlines, staff in hospitals, participants in 7_____ ,

    答案：marathons

    原文定位：Runners in major marathons set off with bar codes on their vests, and librarians rely on them

    同义替换：「Present day」↔「Now」，「participants」↔「Runners」

12. and scientists studying 8_____ .

    答案：bees

    原文定位：Tiny bar codes have even been mounted on bees by researchers to track their movements

    同义替换：「scientists」↔「researchers」，「studying」↔「track their movements」

13. 9 Bernard Silver was invited to develop a system for capturing product information by the president of a food chain.
    • TRUE
    • FALSE
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：FALSE

    原文定位：The president of a food chain was pleading with a professor to undertake research on a method of capturing product information automatically at store checkouts. The professor turned down the request, but Bernard Silver mentioned the conversation to his friend Norman Woodland