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Austerity is a word often found on the lips of politicians and economists at the moment, but it is seldom heard from technologis

admin2022-07-24  55
问题     Austerity is a word often found on the lips of politicians and economists at the moment, but it is seldom heard from technologists. And although the idea that "less is more" has many adherents in architecture, design and fashion, the technology industry has historically espoused the opposite view. Products should have as many features as possible; and next year’s version should have even more. As prices fall, what starts off as a fancy new feature quickly becomes commonplace—try buying a phone without a camera, or a car without electric windows—prompting companies to add new features in an effort to outdo their rivals. Never mind if nobody uses most of these new features. In an arms race, more is always more.
    But now there are signs that technologists are waking up to the benefits of minimalism, thanks to two things: feature fatigue among consumers who simply want things to work, and strong demand from less affluent consumers in the developing world. It is telling that the market value of Apple, the company most closely associated with simple, elegant high-tech products, recently overtook that of Microsoft, the company with the most notorious case of new-features. True, Apple’s products contain lots of features under the hood, but the company has a knack for concealing such complexities by using elegant designs. Other companies have also prospered by providing easy-to-use products: think of the Nintendo Wii video game console or the Flip video camera. Gadgets are no longer just for geeks, and if technology is to appeal to a broad audience, simplicity trumps fancy specifications.
    Another strand of techno-austerity can be found in software that keeps things simple in order to reduce distractions and ensure that computer-users remain focused and productive. Many word processors now have special full-screen modes, so that all unnecessary and distracting menus, palettes and so on are disabled or hidden; rather than fiddling with font sizes or checking e-mail, you are encouraged to get on with your writing. If the temptation to have a quick look at Facebook proves too much, there are programs that will disable access to particular websites at specified times of day; and if that is not draconian enough, there are even some programs that can block internet access altogether. A computer on which some features are not present, or have been deliberately disabled, may in fact be more useful if you are trying to get things done. There are no distracting hyperlinks on a typewriter. Then there is the phenomenon of "frugal" innovation. Low-cost laptops were inspired to be produced for children in poor countries, but have since proved popular with consumers around the world.
    All this offers grounds for hope. If the feature-obsessed technology industry can change its tune, perhaps there is a chance that governments—which have also tended to be inveterate believers in the idea that more is more—might also come to appreciate the merits of minimalism.
The importance of minimalism has been realized for the following reasons EXCEPT that
选项 A、consumer preference has changed and frugality has been highly valued.
B、consumers want to buy new products regardless of their features.
C、Apple’s products show a smart combination of features and design.
D、high-tech products with an elegant appearance are getting popular.
答案D
解析 根据文章第二段第二句“It is telling that the market value of Apple, the company most closely associated with simple, elegant high-tech products, recently overtook that of Microsoft, the company with the most notorious case of new-features. ”可知，苹果公司的产品以简约优雅著称，后文也提到了其产品中也包含很多新特性，但是通过巧妙的设计，那些特性就显得不那么明显，特性与设计的结合使苹果产品受欢迎，同时也使简约的概念深入人心，故排除C项。根据文章第二段第一句“But now there are signs that technologists are waking up to the benefits of minimalism, thanks to two things: feature fatigue among consumers who simply want things to work, and strong demand from less affluent consumers in the developing world.”可知，消费者的心理时简约主义是有影响的，只要商品有助于他们完成工作，特性就显得不那么重要了，故排除AB项。文中并没有提到那些外观设计优雅的产品受欢迎对人们意识到简约主义的重要性产生影响，故选D。
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