The Magic Io Personal Digital Pen
1 Check out the io Personal Digital Pen launched by Logitech： It’ s a magic pen that can store everything you write and transfer it to your computer. And you don’ t have to lug a hand-held device along with you for it to work. 1
2 Logitech’ s technology works like this: The pen writes normally, using normal ballpoint pen ink2. But while you are writing, a tiny camera inside the pen is also taking 100 snapshots per second of what you are doing3, mapping your writing via a patchwork of minute dots printed on the paper. All this information—the movement of your pen on the paper, basically — is then stored digitally inside the pen, whether you are writing notes or drawing complex diagrams. You can store up to 40 pages worth of doodles in the pen’ s memory. As far as you are concerned4, you are just using a normal pen.
3 It is only when you drop the pen into its PC-connected cradle that the fun begins. Special software on your PC will figure out what you have done, and begin to download any documents you have written since the last time it was there. Depending on whether you have ticked certain boxes on the special notepad, it can also tell whether the document is destined to be an e-mail, a “to do” task, or a diagram to be inserted into a word-processing document. Once the documents are downloaded you can view them, print them out or convert them to other formats.
4 The io Personal Digital Pen is a neat and simple solution to the problem of storing, sharing and retrieving handwritten notes, as well as for handling diagrams, pictures and other non-text doodling. You don’ t have to carry a laptop along with you. All you have to do is just whip out the pen and the special paper and you are off5.
5 It is a great product because it does not force you to work differently —walking around with a screen strapped to your arm, or carrying with you extra bits and pieces. The pen is light and works like a normal pen if you need it to, while the special notepads look and feel like notepads. The only strange looks will be from people who are curious why you are writing with a cigar.
6 The io Personal Digital Pen also has potential elsewhere. FedEx6, for example, is introducing a version of the pen so that customers can fill out forms by hand —instead of punching letters into cumbersome devices. Once that data is digital more or less anything can be done with it — transferring it wirelessly to a central computer, for example, or via a hand—phone. Doctors could transmit their prescriptions direct to pharmacies, reducing fraud; policemen could send their reports back to the station, reducing paperwork.
詞彙：
lug吃力地攜帶snapshot快照patchwork拼湊的東西，雜絵 doodle信手寫就的資料cradle座，支架download下載
tick打上小記號notepad記事本destined預定的 laptop膝上型電腦，膝上電腦whip猛地拔出strap用帶扣住 cumbersome 麻煩的 pharmacy 藥房
註釋：
1. And you don’ t have to lug a hand-held device along with you for it to work： to work是動詞不定式，用作目的狀語，修飾lugb for it是work的邏輯主語。it指代io Personal Digital Pen。
2. ballpoint pen ink：圓珠筆墨水
3. a tiny camera inside the pen is also taking 100 snapshots per second of what you are doing： is also taking 100 snapshots 和 of what you are doing 之間插入了 per second。
4. As far as you are concerned：就你而言
5. …you are off： 你就能開始工作了
6. FedEx：聯邦快遞公司
練習：
1. Paragraph 2 .
2. Paragraph 3 .
3. Paragraph 5 .
4. Paragraph 6 .
A A Friendly and Convenient Device
B Ways to Download the Stored Information
C Examples of Other Potential Applications of the Io Pen
D Customers’ Passion for the Io Pen
E FedEx the First User of the Io Pen
F Working Principles of the Io Personal Digital Pen
5. There is no need to learn how to use the io Personal Digital Pen because
6. If you want to download what you have done with the magic pen, .
7. The magic pen is particularly convenient when you work away from home or office because .
8. No matter what you write or draw,
A you don’ t have to carry your laptop along
B the information will be shown digitally on the pen C FedEx has special software to store your information D it works like an ordinary pen
E you simply place the pen into its computer-connected cradle F the movement of your pen is recorded digitally inside the pen
答案與題解：
1.F第二段介紹神奇筆的工作原理。筆內裝有一個攝像頭，把寫的字或畫的圖轉換為 數碼，儲存在筆內的記憶裝置裡。
2. B第三段介紹把神奇筆儲存的資訊下載到電腦中的過程，其中很重要的一個裝置是 將筆與電腦相連線的`cradle (筆座)。
3. A第五段介紹神奇筆的優越性，使用的方式和使用普通筆一樣，不用攜帶顯示屏， 不用帶附件。所以，這段的內容可以概括為A friendly and convenient device。
4. C最後一段列舉了有可能使用神奇筆的其他地方。
5. D文章中多處都提到the io Personal Digital Pen用起來很方便，普通的筆怎麼 用，the io Personal Digital Pen 也怎麼用。因此，it works like an ordinary pen 是答案。
6. E download和使用cradle的內容可在第三段第一句、第二句中找到。
7. A 題幹中的 convenient 和 when you work away from home or office 提示我們要 選A。第五段第一句說，外出時不用攜帶顯示屏或附件。
8. F第二段第三句是選F的依據。
譯文：神奇的io私人數字筆
仔細看看由Logitech公司發明的io私人數字筆吧。這是一種神奇的筆。可以將你寫的 所有東西儲存下來並轉換到計算機上，而你在使用這種數字筆時卻不必攜帶手持裝置。
Logitech技術的工作原理如下：這種筆使用一種普通的圓珠筆墨水，和平常一樣寫字。 但是當你寫字時，筆內的一個極小的攝像頭也在以每秒鐘100張的速度對你所寫的內容進行 快速拍攝，通過印在紙上的小點塊拼出你所寫的內容。然後，無論你是記筆記還是畫複雜圖 表，所以的資訊一一基本上都是筆在紙上的移動一一都將以數字形式儲存於筆中。你可在筆 的儲存器中儲存多達40頁的資料。而對你來說，你只不過是在使用一支普通的筆而已。
只有當你將筆插入與PC機連線的筆座中時，有趣的事才真正開始。你的PC機的專用軟 件會估算出你所做之事，並下載你最新寫下的所有檔案。根據你是否在專用記事本的一些特 定框裡打對號，這種筆還可以辨別出文檔是電子郵件、“待執行”人物還是要插入文書處理 文件的圖表。文件下載後，你就可以檢視、列印或將其轉換為其他形式。
io私人數字筆可妥善又簡單地解決手寫筆記的儲存、共享和檢索問題，也可處理圖表、 圖片以及其他非文字資料。你不必攜帶電腦，你只需要拿出筆和專門用紙就能開始工作了。
這是一種很了不起的產品，因為你的工作不會因之產生任何麻煩一一你不必攜帶顯示 屏，也不必攜帶任何附件。它非常輕便，如果你需要的話，也可以當普通筆來用，而這種專 用記事本看起來摸起來都很像普通記事本。有些人會很好奇，不明白為什麼你在用雪茄寫字， 這是唯一看起來令人費解的地方。
io私人數字筆在其他方面也很有潛力。例如，聯邦快遞公司正引進一種數字筆，從而 使用者可用手填寫表格，而無需再費力勞神地打進機器中。如果數字為數字型，幾乎所有事情 都可由這種筆來完成一一例如將資料通過無線方式或手機傳輸到中心計算機上。醫生可將處 方直接轉到藥房，減少了欺詐行為的發生。警察可將報告發回警察局，減少了文書工作。
