Comparisons were drawn between the development of television in the 20th century and the diffusion of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. Yet much had happened __1__. As was discussed before, it was not __2__ the 19th century that the newspaper became the dominant pre-electronic medium, following in the wake of the pamphlet and the book and in the __3__ of the periodical. It was during the same time that the communications revolution __4__ up, beginning with transport, the railway, and leading __5__ through the telegraph, the telephone, radio, and motion pictures __6__ the 20th-century world of the motor car and the air plane. Not everyone sees that process in __7__. It is important to do so.

　　It is generally recognized, __8__, that the introduction of the computer in the early 20th century, __9__ by the invention of the integrated circuit during the 1960s, radically changed the process.

　　As time went by, computers became smaller and more powerful, and they became “personal” too, as well as institutional, with display becoming sharper and storage __10__ increasing. They were thought of, like people, __11__ generations, with the distance between generations much __12__.

　　It was within the computer age that the term “information society” began to be widely used to describe the context within which we now live. The communications revolution has __13__ both work and leisure and how we think and feel both about place and time, but there have been __14__ views about its economic, political, social and cultural implications. “Benefits” have been weighed __15__ “harmful” outcomes. And generalizations have proved difficult.

　　1. A. between B. before C. since D. later

　　2. A. after B. by C. during D. until

　　3. A. process B. company C. light D. form

　　4. A. gathered B. speeded C. worked D. picked

　　5. A. on B. out C. over D. off

　　6. A. of B. for C. beyond D. into

　　7. A. concept B. dimension C. effect D. perspective

　　8. A. indeed B. hence C. however D. therefore

　　9. A. brought B. followed C. stimulated D. characterized

　　10. A. ability B. capability C. capacity D. faculty

　　11. A. by means of B. in terms of C. with regard to D. in line with

　　12. A. deeper B. fewer C. nearer D. smaller

　　13. A. regarded B. impressed C. influenced D. effected

　　14. A. competitive B. controversial C. distracting D. irrational

　　15. A. above B. upon C. against D. with

　　答案解析：

　　1. A。between在这里意思指20世纪与15世纪和16世纪之间。B，C，D三项显然都不能具体表达这个意思。故答案为A。

　　2. D。本题考查词组固定搭配。not until... 直到……才……和until常用在强调句型中。例如：The shop is not open until 9 o'clock. 直到早上九点商店才开门。It is until 9 o'clock that the shop is not open.或It is not until 9 o'clock that the shop is open.

　　3. B。根据词义和搭配。in the company of 伴随着，和……一起。process过程，进程，后面搭配多是表示行动的词。light用在短语in a new light以新的见解；come to light出现，显露；form形式，外形。

　　4. B。speed up 加速，在这里指通讯技术革命加速发展。gather up 聚集；work up 逐步建立；pick up 接某人，捡…… 其它几项不符合句子意思，故答案为B。

　　5. A。根据句子意思和词语搭配。on在这里表示持续性，这句话意思是交通和通讯技术革命一直占据领先位置。

　　6. D。into表示时间进入20世纪。

　　7. D。perspective观点，看法。in perspective是固定短语，表示观察合理地，看法适当地。例子：Judge sb’s role in perspective合理地评价某人的作用。concept观念，概念；dimension尺度，维度；effect结果，效果。

　　8. C。however然而，可是，插入在句子中间，用逗号与句子前后隔开，表示转折。indeed当然，确实，表示让步；hence因此，从此，要与句子连用，不隔开，；therefore所以，要用在句子开头。It is generally recognaized 公认的。

　　9. B。followed伴随，随后。brought，stimulated和characterize不符合句子意思。integrated circuit 集成电路。

　　10. C。storage capacity容量。ability能力，才干；cap实际能力，性能；faculty才能，本领。故答案为C。

　　11. B。in terms of就……而言，从……方面说；by means of通过……方法(手段)；with regard to关于；in line with与……一致，符合……。

　　12. D。根据句子意思和词语修饰关系。smaller在句子中修饰distance。这里也是一个独立主格结构。主语是the distance，而deeper，fewer和nearer都不能和distance构成修饰关系。故答案为D。

　　13. C。influenced和主语revolution以及后面的三个宾语搭配，意思通顺。其他三项都不能兼顾这些修饰关系。regarded当作，看作，重视；impressed留下印象；effected招致，实行，达到。没有影响的意思。故答案为C。

　　14. B。controversial views有争议的观点，不相同的看法。competitive竞争的，competing 互相竞争；distracting分配的；irrational无理性的，失去理性的。

　　15. C。根据句子意思和词语搭配。weighed在句子的意思是权衡，比较。weight against 表示权衡。