Text 3
Success, it is often said, has many fathers—and one of the many fathers of computing, that most successful of industries, was Charles Babbage, a 19th-century British mathematician. Exasperated by errors in the mathematical tables that were widely used as calculation aids at the time, Babbage dreamed of building a mechanical engine that could produce flawless tables automatically. But his attempts to make such a machine in the 1920s failed, and the significance of his work was only rediscovered this century.
Next year, at last, the first set of printed tables should emerge from a calculating "difference engine" built to Babbage’s design. Babbage will have been vindicated. But the realization of his dream will also underscore the extent to which he was a man born ahead of his time.
The effort to prove that Babbage’s designs were logically and practically sound began in 1985, when a team of researchers at the Science
A. Babbage's difference engine turned out to be a large machine.
B. Researchers did not build the printer for lack of money.
C. Babbage designed the printer to avoid possible typesetting or transcription errors.
D. Researchers found it difficult to build a printer as complicated as the calculating engin
Text 3
Success, it is often said, has many fathers—and one of the many fathers of computing, that most successful of industries, was Charles Babbage, a 19th-century British mathematician. Exasperated by errors in the mathematical tables that were widely used as calculation aids at the time, Babbage dreamed of building a mechanical engine that could produce flawless tables automatically. But his attempts to make such a machine in the 1920s failed, and the significance of his work was only rediscovered this century.
Next year, at last, the first set of printed tables should emerge from a calculating "difference engine" built to Babbage’s design. Babbage will have been vindicated. But the realization of his dream will also underscore the extent to which he was a man born ahead of his time.
The effort to prove that Babbage’s designs were logically and practically sound began in 1985, when a team of researchers at the Science
A. Babbage's intelligence was far ahead of his fellow-men
B. Babbage's idea was reasonable both theoretically and practically
C. Babbage's dream could only be realized in the 20th century
D. Babbage's design was actually imperfect
Text 1
Whoever said that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan, surely had never heard of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the case of the hapless multilateral trade body and its long suffering representatives, the total failure of the opening meeting of the socalled Millennium trade round has lots of people boasting of their role in the violent physical struggle. Well. That’s just brilliant. They are proud of being part of a movement that wants to wreck the most important engine of economic growth, prosperity and overall global rising living standards we have—the freedom of trade and movement of people and goods between nations.
The 135-member WTO is composed of sovereign governments wishing to further this goal and ease the settlement of international trade disputes. From the sounds emanating from Seattle, though, it would now seem the WTO has now replaced the Trilateral Commission and the Freemasons as candidate No. 1
A. dubiously-oriented.
B. quite transient.
C. self-contradictory.
D. fairly consequential.
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