As he lays out his vision for the future of open-source software, Mark Shuttleworth is enthusiastic, but he looks tired. He has been up late negotiating yet another deal as part of his mission to bring open source to a wider audience. A successful South African entrepreneur during the dotcom era, he wants open-source advocates to lose their religion and concentrate on ease-of-use instead. And he is putting his money where his mouth is. Since 2004, he has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project, which makes a user-friendly version of Linux, the open-source operating system. Ubuntu is a Zulu and Xhosa term that roughly means “universal bond of sharing between humans”. Ubuntu's slogan is “Linux for human beings”, and it is aimed at mainstream computer users. For although Linux is popular on servers, it is not, so far, used on many desktops.

In part that is because open-source software tends to polarise opinion. It has many critics who suspect that software written by idealistic guys, and made available free to anyone who wants to download it, must be some kind of communist plot. Zealous believers, meanwhile, long for open source to triumph over the evil empires of commercial software. This clash is often depicted as an epic struggle between Linux and Microsoft's proprietary Windows operating system. But the truth is that most computer users do not know or care about the politics of open-source software. Mr Shuttleworth says most people simply want to read their e-mail, browse the web and so on.

 “It's very easy to declare victory,” says Mr Shuttleworth, describing the conceited attitude of some open-source supporters. “There are big chunks of the software world that depend on free software.” But Ubuntu's aim is not to conquer the software establishment and replace its products. Rather than seeing open-source software as one of two competing ideologies and focusing on the struggle, Ubuntu thinks about the user. Ubuntu is a complete bundle of software, from operating system to applications and programming tools, that is updated every six months and, says Mr Shuttleworth, will always be free. Taking the debate out of open source is intended to move adoption beyond politically motivated enthusiasts and encourage mass adoption of the software on its merits.

It is a bold scheme, but Mr Shuttleworth is not a man to think small. He was raised in a suburb of Cape Town, an unlikely place from which to join the internet revolution. Yet that was his goal from the day he first used a web browser. When he saw that the internet was switching from a text-based to a graphical medium, “I sensed that everything was going to change,” he says. He spent a couple of years looking for the right way to get involved, given his situation. “I had to find something to do that was cutting-edge, without requiring much bandwidth or venture capital,” he says. He succeeded handsomely by setting up a company, Thawte, that made digital certificates and security software to support internet commerce. He sold the firm for over $500m to VeriSign in 1999, near the peak of the dotcom boom.

注（1）：本文选自Economist, 07/7/2007

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 3。

1． By the word “religion” (Line 4, Paragraph 1), the author means _______.

  [A] Christianity

    [B] religious advocation

    [C] mysterious thoughts

    [D] crazy belief

2． How does the author feel about the Ubuntu project?

  [A] Objective

    [B] Optimistic

    [C] Discouraging

    [D] Confused

3． When mentioning “Mr Shuttleworth is not a man to think small” (Line 1, Paragraph 4) the author means _______.

  [A] Mr Shuttleworth does not look small.

    [B] Mr Shuttleworth is very ambitious.

    [C] Mr Shuttleworth does not like to think about small things.

    [D] Mr Shuttleworth only cares about important things.

4． What is the difference between Mr Shuttleworth and zealous open-source advocates?

  [A] Mr Shuttleworth focuses on the software’s popularity.

    [B] Mr Shuttleworth does not believe in religion.

    [C] Other advocates only care about the political fight.

    [D] Other advocates are not aware of the software’s merits.

5． Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of the Ubuntu software?

    [A] It is free to download from internet.

    [B] It is updated every six months.

    [C] It can only be used on server.

    [D] It can be used by anyone who has access to internet.

篇章剖析

    本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了南非富商马克·沙特尔沃思意在普及开源软件的努力。第一段简要介绍了沙特尔沃思希望普及开源软件的想法和他的Ubuntu项目；第二段笔锋一转，讨论了对于开源软件的两点不利因素；第三段中沙特尔沃思辩解和阐述了他坚持自己信念和项目的理由；第四段简要介绍了沙特尔沃思的背景、经历和产生支持开源软件想法的原因。

词汇注释

advocate [`AdvEkit] n. 提倡者, 鼓吹者         chunk [tFQNk] n. 相当大的数量

bond [bCnd] n. 结合,联结                    bundle [`bQndl] n. 捆, 束, 包

polarise [`pEulEraiz] v. 使两极分化            adoption [E`dCpFEn] n. 采用

zealous [`zelEs] adj.热心的，狂热的            bold [bEuld] adj. 大胆的

triumph [`traiEmf] v. 获得胜利                scheme [ski:m] n. 安排, 配置, 计划

clash [klAF] n. 冲突                         cutting-edge adj.前沿的

conceited [kEn`si:tid] adj. 自以为是的, 傲慢的   bandwidth [`bAndwidW] n. 精力

难句突破

Since 2004, he has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project, which makes a user-friendly version of Linux, the open-source operating system.

主体句式  He has been using his fortune to fund the Ubuntu project.

结构分析  本句中which 引导的定语从句，用来修饰前面提到的Ubuntu project。最后的短语是一个同位语，用来解释说明什么是Linux。

句子译文  自从2004年以来，他一直以个人财产资助Ubuntu项目，该项目致力于为开源操作系统Linux开发一个更加便于用户使用的版本。

题目分析

1．D. 语义题。这篇文章与宗教无关，所以此处的religion是一种引申义和比喻义，即有一些开源软件的支持者们对于开源软件有一种宗教般地疯狂崇拜，而他们并不关于怎么样把开源软件简单化，从而使得大众都能够使用。因此答案为D。

2．A. 态度题。作者在本文中的分析态度是相当客观的，即阐述了反对者的想法，也摆出了支持者沙特尔沃思的辩解，而作者本人则并没有发表个人见解。

3．B. 语义题。从上下文来看，尽管Ubuntu项目的整体计划看上去非常大胆，但是显然沙特尔沃思是信心十足的，他并不是那种轻易认输的人，也就是说他是非常雄心勃勃的。

4．A. 细节题。文章全篇的重点都在谈论的一个重要话题就是，开源软件的支持者们痴迷的是这种软件本身、以及与商用软件的斗争，而沙特尔沃思的关注点则是在于如何让更多的大众方便地使用这款软件。

5．C. 细节题。文章第四段谈到了Ubuntu软件包的一些特点，它可以免费下载、面向公众，而且每六个月更新一次。更重要的是，它不想Linux一样只是在服务器上非常流行，而是把目标放在广大普通用户上。

参考译文

    当展望开源软件的未来时，马克·沙特尔沃思热情十足，但是他看起来却非常疲惫。他最近正在为另一桩生意谈判，这也是他立志要把开源带给更多人的使命的一部分。作为一名在信息泡沫时代成功的南非企业家，他希望开源倡导者们能放弃他们的盲目崇拜，而把精力集中到如何使开源软件更加方便地为人们使用上来。他自己也把钱都投在他说的这些事情上。自从2004年以来，他一直以个人财产资助Ubuntu项目，该项目致力于为开源操作系统Linux开发一个更加便于用户使用的版本。Ubuntu是一个祖鲁语和科萨语的术语，大意就是“在人类之间分享的广泛联系”。Ubuntu项目的口号是“为全人类服务的Linux”，其目标人群是主流电脑使用者。这是因为尽管Linux在服务器上非常流行，但到目前为止却很少为台式机所使用。

    这部分是因为开源软件会使人们的观点分为两个极端。许多批评家怀疑这种由理想主义者设计、任何人都可以下载使用的软件一定是个共产主义的阴谋。同时，那些开源软件的狂热支持者却渴盼开源能够最终战胜商业软件的邪恶帝国。人们经常把这一冲突描绘成Linux和微软拥有版权的视窗操作系统之间史诗般的斗争。但是事实上，大部分电脑使用者都不知道、或者不关心关于开源软件的政治斗争。沙特尔沃思说大部分人在电脑上想做的事情只不过是收发电子邮件、浏览网页等等。

    “我们很容易就可以宣布胜利，”沙特尔沃思先生在谈及一些开源支持者的偏见时说到，“软件世界的很大一部分都取决于免费软件。”但是Ubuntu项目的目的不是征服已有的软件世界并以其他产品取而代之。Ubuntu并不把开源软件看成是两种计算机理念的一种、也不关注其中的斗争，Ubuntu只是在为客户考虑。沙特尔沃思先生介绍道，Ubuntu是一组完整的软件包，包括操作系统和各种应用及编程工具，每六个月更新一次，而且永远都是免费的。让开源远离斗争，让开源不仅仅是一些有政治目的的狂热者的话题，而把重点放在鼓励大众都充分利用这种软件的价值。

    这是一个大胆的计划，但是我们不可以小看沙特尔沃思先生。他成长于开普敦的郊区，那是一个并不像是能够参与到互联网革命的地方。但是从他使用网页浏览器的第一天开始，他就给自己立了这个目标。当他看到原先基于文本的互联网向图像媒体转移的时候，“我感到事情将要开始变化了，”他说。在那种情形下，他花了几年的时间寻找如何介入这一领域的最佳方式。“我想找一些最前沿的东西来做，而不用花很多的精力和投机资本，”他说到。他成功地成立了一家名为Thawte的公司，致力于制作数码证书和安全软件、从而支持网络商业。他在1999年信息泡沫时代发展的高峰期以5亿美元的价格将该公司卖给了VeriSign