《安徽省马鞍山市2014高考英语阅读理解、动词短语精讲讲练14.docVIP

马鞍山市2014高考英语阅读理解、动词短语精讲讲练（14）及答案 (·山西省三市联考)The iPhone, the iPad, the iPod: each of Apples products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBCs iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet — adopted 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 of Londons Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”． In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-com-merce first came into use. Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independents “i”， its no surprise that theyve selected this fashionable name. But its hard to see whats so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”， “b”， or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at Kings 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 didnt have one clear definition，” he says. “However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability(轻便)，” 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 20 words that have come to define the last decade. 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 associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared. 语篇解读：本文为说明文。