2015考研英语阅读理解精读P27—工学类2015考研英语阅读理解精读P27—工学类.docVIP

2015考研英语阅读理解精读P27—工学类 　　Passage 27 　　Hauling yourself up by the bootstraps has never been easy. But computers do this every time they are turned on-hence the verb to boot. Booting a computer takes valuable time, compounded by the rebooting that is inevitably necessary whenever a computer freezes. 　　The reason that this process takes so long is that a computers operating system must be loaded from its hard disk into its random-access memory (RAM) every time the machine is turned on. Unlike magnetic tapes or hard disks, RAM is an electric form of memory. It is, in effect, an array of tiny capacitors which, when charged, represent a binary 1 and, when not charged, represent a binary o. This has allowed them to be much faster than magnetic memory, in which the binary digits (bits) are represented by magnetically polarised regions rather than electric charges. The big problem with electric memory, however, is that it is volatile-the capacitors have to be recharged frequently so that they can continue to remember a1. When a computer is turned off, they lose all the data stored in them. 　　The race has been on to build nonvolatile high-speed memories that will allow computers to be turned on and off like televisions. Whichever technology wins is almost certain to be used in all new computers, so the stakes are high. Motorola, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard are all developing magnetic RAM (MRAM) which seems poised to become the nonvolatile technology of choice. Both Motorola and IBM have announced plans to bring the technology to market within 18 months, advancing their initial target date of 2004. Besides turning instantly on, computers equipped with such chips would consume less power, making the technology ideal for satellites and portable gizmos. 　　MRAM works by etching a grid of criss-crossing wires on a chip in two layers-with the horizontal wires being placed just below the vertical wires. At each intersection, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is created that serves as a