In a ditty for the stage， W.S. Gilbert once gave warning that “Things are seldom what they seem/Skim milk masquerades as cream.” If appearances were tricky in 1878， they have just become trickier still. By doubling the resolution of existing liquid-crystal displays (LCDS)， IBM has created a monitor which， when viewed from 18 inches away or farther， shows images that the human eye finds indistinguishable from the real thing.

The T220， as it is called， measures 22 inches across the diagonal， and displays 9.2m picture elements (“pixels”)。 That gives it a resolution of 200 pixels per inch， twice the previous state of the art. This achievement has come as a result of gradual improvements in optics， liquid-crystal chemistry and microelectronics made by IBM groups in Yamato， Japan， and Yorktown Heights， New York.

LCDs work by sandwiching a thin sheet of liquid crystals-in this case， thin-film transistors-between two narrowly separated panes of glass. Typically， small glass spheres have held the two panes of glass apart， impairing by refraction the performance of the display. IBM has replaced the spheres with small posts， which are located in the interstices between pixels， and so do not disturb the light as it leaves the excited liquid crystal. In the past， attempts to achieve such high pixel rates have been stymied by the build-up of electrical static， which caused problems with the brightness of the screens. The IBM groups have solved this by using a laser to scan back and forth across the glass， preventing the build up of static electricity.

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At a current retail price of $22，000， the T220 is hardly going to be flying off the shelves. But it will be ideal for hospitals. Historically， radiology has been a driving force behind the development of high-resolution screens. And the T220's price tag will go almost unnoticed when attached to MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CT (computerised tomography) scanning machines. Until now， no monitor has been able to display the 5m pixels of data that a typical CT-scanning machine produces. The ability to reproduce the data with perfect fidelity should help radiologists make more accurate diagnoses from the computer screen.

According to Bob Artemenko， director of marketing and strategy for IBM'S business display unit， the new screen could also help petroleum engineers to speed up their analysis of where to drill from one month to one day. Similarly， the higher fidelity will allow CAD (computer-aided design) systems， especially in the motor and aerospace industries， to work faster-because the detail revealed by the new monitor can cut out costly prototype-building exercises. RAM'S idea is that the new monitor will allow designers of all sorts to go straight from computer image to final product， eliminating many costly and time-consuming middle stages.

With prices of more conventional 15 inch LCDs now below $500， IBM is expected to shift its engineering effort from achieving high resolution to lowering costs. How long before the T22o starts showing up in high-end laptops? Judging from previous experience， it could happen sooner than most people think

注(1)：本文选自Economist; 9/22/2001， p7， 2p， 1c;

注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年Text 1;

1. How does the author introduce the topic?

[A]Posing a contrast.

[B]Justifying an assumption.

[C]Making a comparison.

[D]Explaining a phenomenon.

2. Which of the following is not the advantage of the T220?

[A]Reasonable price.

[B]Time-saving.

[C]Cost-saving.

[D]High fidelity.

3. The expression “stymied”(Line 6， Paragraph 3) most probably means _____________.

[A]limited

[B]controlled

[C]improved

[D]hindered

4. Why does the hospital ignore the price tag of T220?

[A]T220 creates a driving force for the medical staff.

[B]T220 guarantees a more accurate diagnosis.

[C]CT-scanning machine fails to produce such high fidelity images.

[D]T220 owns the ability to reproduce data with perfect fidelity.

5. What is the current problem IBM facing?

[A]Achieving high resolution.

[B]Pursuing more applications.

[C]Lowering the price.

[D]Reducing the size of the screen.

答案：CADBC

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