Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone—an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone's simplest features: voice calls.
With more than 250 million mobile users and 6 million new ones added each month, India now has the “teledensity” to support more sophisticated mobile technologies, which could have a big impact on Indian society and the economy in the next few years. These include “voice broadcast” services that would let a truck owner inform residents of a village about a scheduled trip to the city, or doctors announce the availability of polio vaccinations. A more complex system would allow a small business, say, to keep track of shipments. What's holding up these services is the lack of mobile banking.
With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. Reliance Communications, which has offered Internet service over its mobile phones since 2002, is sponsoring a contest this year for developers to invent new rural services. “We want to really take advantage of our mobile platform, our data network, and our ability to provide the mobile Internet experience to bridge the digital divide,” says Mahesh Prasad, president of applications and development.
Several small companies are at work on mobile banking for small businesses. New Delhi-based ekgaon technologies has developed a system for tracking transactions made by so-called Self Help Groups, which pool members' money and offer small loans to poor people. The system uses a camera-equipped mobile phone to scan forms and a voice recognition system. A.Little.World, a mobile software business in Mumbai, has developed a microfinance and payment system that lets customers perform banking transactions through a local agent affiliated with a bank. Customers get a secure electronic identity via phone or smart card; agents take deposits and dispense cash. Biometric data, such as fingerprints, make the phones and smart cards more secure than paper-based banking. A.Little.World has extended such services to about 400 local businesses acting as agents. And it's now working on a national rollout with the State Bank of India—the biggest player in the rural market. Meanwhile, ekgaon, whose partners include CARE, WorldVision and the World Bank, has a pilot transaction-management system for 10,000 Self Help Groups, with plans to extend it to 14 Indian states.
Mobile banking services can reduce the cost of transactions for loans and other services—the main obstacle to providing banking for the poor—by as much as three quarters, according to ekgaon's chief operating officer Rohit Magotra. Mobile transactions could have an even broader effect applied to India's social-security payments and public distribution system, which sells essential goods to the poor at subsidized rates. By March 2008, people in 8,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will get their benefits zapped via mobile phone to their smart cards, which they may eventually use instead of cash to buy goods at the ration shop. A.Little.World, which is building the system, says a nationwide service could help reduce fraud in the public distribution system. It would also mean going from a bankless world to a cashless one, maybe even faster than America or Europe.
1. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the “voice broadcast” services?
[A] The services are oriented to the needs of people in rural area.
[B] The services are based on sophisticated mobile technologies.
[C] The services have great impact on the Indian society.
[D] The services are on the horizon by implementing mobile banking.
2. Global giants like Nokia are turning their focus on the rural areas because _____.
[A] they want to bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas
[B] people in the rural areas are becoming prosperous and are eager to take advantage of the mobile technology
[C] they have almost exhausted the potential of urban markets
[D] the technologies for services of rural areas are now well developed
3. The system developed by A.Little.World. is more secure than the traditional banking because _____.
[A] it adopts the fingerprints as the security data
[B] it uses a voice-recognition system
[C] it gives each customer an electronic ID
[D] it uses a biometric recognition system
4. Mobile banking services have the following advantages except _____.
[A] reducing the cost of transactions
[B] reducing fraud in public service
[C] making the poor's life more convenient
[D] diminishing the function of cash
5. The passage is mainly about _____.
[A] the use of mobile phone in India
[B] India's mobile technologies
[C] mobile banking services in India
[D] the development of mobile transactions
1. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the “voice broadcast” services?
[A] The services are oriented to the needs of people in rural area.
[B] The services are based on sophisticated mobile technologies.
[C] The services have great impact on the Indian society.
[D] The services are on the horizon by implementing mobile banking.
1. 關(guān)于“語(yǔ)音廣播”服務(wù),下列哪個(gè)陳述是錯(cuò)誤的?
[A] 該服務(wù)是針對(duì)偏遠(yuǎn)的農(nóng)村地區(qū)人們的需要而設(shè)立的。
[B] 該服務(wù)基于復(fù)雜的移動(dòng)技術(shù)。
[C] 該服務(wù)對(duì)印度社會(huì)產(chǎn)生了重大影響。
[D] 該服務(wù)很快就會(huì)通過實(shí)行移動(dòng)電話銀行來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)。
答案:C 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆☆
分析:細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第二段提到了“語(yǔ)音廣播”服務(wù),因?yàn)樘岬降亩际寝r(nóng)村,那么選項(xiàng)A的表述是正確的。選項(xiàng)B,第二段提到了印度目前的電話覆蓋已經(jīng)可以支持更為復(fù)雜的移動(dòng)技術(shù)了,而其中一個(gè)就是語(yǔ)音廣播服務(wù)。選項(xiàng)C,文中介紹的該服務(wù)只是在農(nóng)村地區(qū)的情況,而不是整個(gè)社會(huì)那么大的范圍,因此C的描述過于廣泛,實(shí)際情況在文中沒有提及。選項(xiàng)D的表述也是正確的,因?yàn)槲闹幸恢庇脤?lái)時(shí)來(lái)談?wù)撨@些技術(shù)。因此,選項(xiàng)C為正確答案。
2. Global giants like Nokia are turning their focus on the rural areas because _____.
[A] they want to bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas
[B] people in the rural areas are becoming prosperous and are eager to take advantage of the mobile technology
[C] they have almost exhausted the potential of urban markets
[D] the technologies for services of rural areas are now well developed
2. 像諾基亞這樣的全球性大公司將他們的注意力轉(zhuǎn)向了農(nóng)村地區(qū),因?yàn)?_____。
[A] 他們希望可以彌合城鄉(xiāng)之間的數(shù)字鴻溝
[B] 農(nóng)村地區(qū)的人們變得更加富裕,他們渴望能夠利用移動(dòng)技術(shù)
[C] 他們幾乎已經(jīng)完全開發(fā)盡了城市市場(chǎng)的潛力
[D] 為農(nóng)村地區(qū)服務(wù)的技術(shù)現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)成熟了
答案:C 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆
分析:細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第三段提到:With urban markets nearing saturation, global giants like Nokia are now looking to appeal to the hinterlands. 即隨著城市市場(chǎng)趨于飽和,他們才轉(zhuǎn)向農(nóng)村地區(qū)的,這說(shuō)明城市市場(chǎng)的潛力已經(jīng)開發(fā)得差不多了。所以選項(xiàng)C最符合題意。其他三項(xiàng)顯然都不是諾基亞這樣的企業(yè)的目的。
3. The system developed by A.Little.World. is more secure than the traditional banking because _____.
[A] it adopts the fingerprints as the security data
[B] it uses a voice recognition system
[C] it gives each customer an electronic ID
[D] it uses a biometric recognition system
3. “小世界”研發(fā)的系統(tǒng)比傳統(tǒng)的銀行作業(yè)更為安全,因?yàn)?_____。
[A] 它使用了指紋作為安全數(shù)據(jù)
[B] 它使用了語(yǔ)音識(shí)別系統(tǒng)
[C] 每個(gè)顧客可以取得電子身份
[D] 它使用了生物識(shí)別系統(tǒng)
答案:D 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆
分析:細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第四段提到,“小世界”研發(fā)的這個(gè)系統(tǒng)因?yàn)槭褂昧艘恍┥锝y(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù),例如指紋,這使電話和智能卡比紙媒銀行業(yè)務(wù)更加安全。那么,選項(xiàng)D最為符合題意。選項(xiàng)A的錯(cuò)誤在于,指紋只是其中一個(gè)例子,并不是唯一的做法。B不是“小世界”系統(tǒng)的特點(diǎn)。而選項(xiàng)C的表述雖然是“小世界”的 特點(diǎn),卻并不是其安全的直接原因。
4. Mobile banking services have the following advantages except _____.
[A] reducing the cost of transactions
[B] reducing fraud in public service
[C] making the poor's life more convenient
[D] diminishing the function of cash
4. 移動(dòng)銀行服務(wù)有除了下面 _____ 外的所有優(yōu)點(diǎn)。
[A] 降低交易費(fèi)用
[B] 減少在公共服務(wù)中的詐騙行為
[C] 使窮人的生活更為便捷
[D] 取消現(xiàn)金的作用
答案:D 難度系數(shù):☆☆☆
分析:細(xì)節(jié)題。第五段提到了該服務(wù)的一些優(yōu)點(diǎn),比如可以減少交易費(fèi)用;窮人的補(bǔ)貼直接打入智能卡,可以直接用智能卡去配給商店買東西;可以減少公共分配體系中的詐騙行為。因此,選項(xiàng)A、B和C都是該服務(wù)的優(yōu)點(diǎn),只有選項(xiàng)D不是。
5. The passage is mainly about _____.
[A] the use of mobile phone in India
[B] India's mobile technologies
[C] mobile banking services in India
[D] the development of mobile transactions
5. 這篇文章主要是關(guān)于 _____。
[A] 移動(dòng)電話在印度的使用
[B] 印度的移動(dòng)技術(shù)
[C] 印度的移動(dòng)電話銀行服務(wù)
[D] 移動(dòng)交易的發(fā)展
答案:C 難度系數(shù):☆
分析:主旨題。這篇文章主要講述了印度對(duì)移動(dòng)電話服務(wù)的探索和創(chuàng)新,談?wù)摰膬?nèi)容一直圍繞著mobile banking來(lái)進(jìn)行,因此選項(xiàng)中只有C最為符合題意。選項(xiàng)A、B以及D的表述都過于寬泛,不夠確切。
移動(dòng)電話可以改善印度那些地處偏遠(yuǎn)、服務(wù)設(shè)施不完善地區(qū)人們的生活。他們不再需要步行幾公里到公共電話廳打電話了,而電話是他們根據(jù)最新的市場(chǎng)信息買賣貨物、從銀行獲取貸款或者從事其他日?;顒?dòng)的最基本工具。迄今,大部分的補(bǔ)貼都是通過電話最簡(jiǎn)單的功能——語(yǔ)音服務(wù)來(lái)解決的。
印度有超過2.5億的移動(dòng)電話用戶,而且每個(gè)月還有600萬(wàn)新增用戶。現(xiàn)在印度的“電話覆蓋”已經(jīng)可以支持更加復(fù)雜的移動(dòng)技術(shù),這在未來(lái)的幾年內(nèi)會(huì)對(duì)印度的社會(huì)、經(jīng)濟(jì)都產(chǎn)生巨大的影響。這其中包括“語(yǔ)音廣播”服務(wù),卡車主可以通過該服務(wù)通知村民們到城里的計(jì)劃行程;醫(yī)生們也可以通知脊髓灰質(zhì)炎疫苗到貨;更為復(fù)雜的系統(tǒng)可以讓小公司跟蹤貨運(yùn)情況。而目前這些服務(wù)的障礙就在于沒有移動(dòng)電話銀行。
隨著城市市場(chǎng)趨于飽和,一些國(guó)際大公司(如諾基亞)現(xiàn)在對(duì)偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)產(chǎn)生了興趣。“信任通訊”自2002年以來(lái)就一直通過移動(dòng)電話來(lái)提供因特網(wǎng)服務(wù),它今年還贊助了一個(gè)競(jìng)賽,鼓勵(lì)開發(fā)商發(fā)明新的郊區(qū)服務(wù)。“我們確實(shí)想要利用我們的移動(dòng)平臺(tái)、數(shù)據(jù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)以及提供移動(dòng)電話上網(wǎng)服務(wù)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)來(lái)彌合數(shù)字鴻溝。”應(yīng)用和開發(fā)部經(jīng)理Mahesh Prasad說(shuō)道。
幾家小公司已經(jīng)在為小型企業(yè)研制移動(dòng)電話銀行了。位于新德里的ekgaon技術(shù)公司已經(jīng)研發(fā)出了一個(gè)系統(tǒng)來(lái)跟蹤“自助集團(tuán)”的交易,該公司把會(huì)員的資金收集起來(lái),為窮人提供小額貸款。該系統(tǒng)使用了一種裝有照相機(jī)的移動(dòng)電話來(lái)掃描圖形,還使用了一種語(yǔ)音識(shí)別系統(tǒng)。“小世界”是孟買的一家小型移動(dòng)軟件公司,目前已經(jīng)研制出了一套微型金融和支付系統(tǒng),可以讓顧客通過銀行附屬的本地代理商來(lái)進(jìn)行銀行交易。顧客通過電話或智能卡獲得安全的電子身份,代理商收取存款和發(fā)放現(xiàn)金。生物統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù),比如指紋,使電話和智能卡比紙媒銀行業(yè)務(wù)更加安全。“小世界”已經(jīng)將這類服務(wù)擴(kuò)展到了約四百家作為代理商的本地企業(yè),且目前正在與印度國(guó)家銀行一起策劃一次全國(guó)范圍的展出,而國(guó)家銀行是農(nóng)村市場(chǎng)的最大玩家。同時(shí),擁有CARE、WorldVision和世界銀行這些合作伙伴的ekgaon擁有可以為一萬(wàn)家“自助集團(tuán)”服務(wù)的交易管理系統(tǒng),它計(jì)劃將其擴(kuò)展到印度的14個(gè)州。
據(jù)ekgaon的首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官Rohit Magotra稱,移動(dòng)銀行服務(wù)最多可以將貸款和其他服務(wù)交易費(fèi)用減少3/4,而交易費(fèi)用是為窮人提供銀行服務(wù)的最主要障礙。移動(dòng)電話交易有更為廣泛的作用,可以用于印度的社會(huì)保障支付和公共分配系統(tǒng),該系統(tǒng)以補(bǔ)助價(jià)格將基本物品賣給窮人。到2008年3月,Andhra Pradesh的8,000個(gè)村莊的居民都可以通過移動(dòng)電話將他們的補(bǔ)貼打入智能卡中,然后用智能卡而不再是現(xiàn)金到定量配給商店購(gòu)買商品。“小世界”正在建立這種系統(tǒng),它認(rèn)為全國(guó)性的服務(wù)有助于減少公共分配體系中的欺詐行為,還意味著可以從無(wú)銀行的世界進(jìn)入無(wú)現(xiàn)金的世界,印度可能會(huì)比美國(guó)或歐洲更早實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)變。