2．The iPhone，the iPad：each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fad（一時(shí)的風(fēng)尚）：Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter"i"--and many other brands are following suit．The BBC's iPlayer--which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet--used the title in 2008．A lovely bear--popular in the US and UK--that plays music and video is called"iTeddy"．A slimmed-down version（簡(jiǎn)裝本） of London's Independent newspaper was started last week under the name"i"．
In general，single-letter prefixes（前綴） have been popular since the 1990s，when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce（電子商務(wù)） first came into use．
Most"I"products are targeted at（針對(duì)） young people and considering the major readers of Independent's"I"，it's no surprise that they've selected this fashionable name．
But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter"i"．Why not use"a"，"b"，or"c"instead？According to Tony Thorne，head of the Language Center at King's College，London，"i"works because its meaning has become ambiguous．When Apple uses"i"，no one knows whether it means Internet，information，individual or interactive，Thorne told BBC Magazines．"Even when Apple created the iPod，it seems it didn't have one clear definition（定義），"he says．
"However，thanks to Apple，the term is now connected with portability （輕便）．"adds Thorne．
Clearly the letter"i"also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual．Each person believes they have their own needs，and we love personalized products for this reason．
Along with"Google"and"blog"，readers of BBC Magazines voted"I"as one of the top 20words that have come to define the last decade（十年）．
But as history shows，people grow tired of fads．From the 1900s to 1990s，products with"2000"in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern．However，as we entered the new century，the fashion disappeared．
24．The underlined word"ambiguous"means"C"．
A．popular
B．clear
C．uncertain
D．unique
25．Nowadays，the"i"term often reminds people of the products which areA．
A．portable
B．environmentally friendly
C．a(chǎn)dvanced
D．recyclable
26．The writer suggests thatD．
A．"i"products are often of high quality
B．iTeddy is alive bear
C．the letter"b"replaces letter"i"to name the products
D．the popularity of"i"products may not last long．
分析 本文為說(shuō)明文．蘋果公司推出的帶有i前綴的產(chǎn)品銷售得異�；鸨阒罏槭裁磫�？本文就介紹了這方面的取名知識(shí)．
解答 小題24．C：詞義推測(cè)題．根據(jù)后面When Apple uses"i"，no one knows whether it means Internet，information，individual or interactive，人們不知道i是什么意思，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，還是信息，還是個(gè)體，或者互動(dòng)，可以判斷ambiguous是"不明確的，模棱兩可的"意思．故選C．
小題25．A：細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第五段的However，thanks to Apple，the term is now associated with portability，可知帶有i前綴的產(chǎn)品通常與輕便聯(lián)系在一起．故選A項(xiàng)．
小題26．D：推理判斷題．根據(jù)最后一段第一句But as history shows，people grow tired of ads，人們已經(jīng)厭倦了這樣以及后面的例子可推知作者認(rèn)為帶有i前綴的產(chǎn)品的盛行也維持不了太長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間．故選D．
點(diǎn)評(píng) 本文主要難點(diǎn)在推理判斷題．需要考生找出相關(guān)語(yǔ)句，還要通過(guò)上下文推斷出題中所問(wèn)，考察閱讀理解以及推理能力．
