Climbers at the top of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, will now be able to make video calls and surf the Internet on their mobile phones, a Nepalese (尼泊尔的) tele group claims.
Ncell, a branch pany of Swedish phone giant TeliaSonera, said on Thursday it had set up a high-speed third-generation (3G) phone base station at an altitude of 5,200 metres in the Everest region.
“Today we made the world’s highest video call from Mount Everest base camp successfully. The coverage (覆盖范围) of the network will reach up to the peak of Mount Everest,” Ncell Nepal chief Pasi Koistinen told reporters in Kathmandu.
The installation (安装) will also help tens of thousands of tourists and hikers who visit the world’s highest mountain every year.
Climbers who reached its 8,848-metre peak previously depended on expensive satellite phones and a voice-only network set up by China Mobile in 2007 on the Chinese side of the mountain.
“This is a great milestone for mobile munications as the 3G high speed Internet will bring faster, more affordable telemunication services from the world’s tallest mountain,” said Lars Nyberg, chief executive of TeliaSonera, which owns 80 percent of Ncell.
The 3G services will be fast enough to make video calls and use the Internet, said the pany, which also claimed the world’s lowest 3G base at 1,400 metres below sea level in a mine in Europe.
Despite the installation in Mount Everest, tele services cover less than one-third of the 28 million people of Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world.
TeliaSonera said it planned to invest $ 100 million in the next year to ensure that mobile coverage increases to more than 90 per cent of the Himalayan nation’s population.
The 3G network on Mount Everest puts TeliaSonera ahead of state-controlled Nepal Tele, Indian-owned United Tele and China Mobile.
Around 3,000 people have climbed to the Everest summit since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to conquer the peak in 1953.
【小题1】Who are most likely to benefit from the 3G services at Mount Everest?A．The tele firm.B．The local residents.C．Travelers to Nepal.D．Mount Everest explorers.【小题2】According to Lars Nyberg, the 3G services they provide .A．are fast and convenientB．are a little expensiveC．can make voice-only callsD．offer free emailing【小题3】What do we know about TeliaSonera?A．80 percent of it is owned by NcellB．It belongs to Nepal Tele.C．It is in the charge of Pasi KoistinenD．It provides services for Pasi Koistinen.【小题4】What is the best title of the text?A．Telemunication in NepalB．3G services reach Mt. Everest summitC．TeliaSonera takes lead in municationD．Good news for hikers and climbersD
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(答案→)D
解析：本文叙述了瑞典手机巨头TeliaSonera的分公司Ncell它们已经在海拔5200米以上的建立了3G的服务，这对于等珠穆朗玛峰的人来说是一件好事，这项服务既快捷又方便。
【小题1】推理判断题。根据set up a high-speed third-generation (3G) phone base station at an altitude of 5,200 metres in the Everest region因为在海拔5200米以上有3G手机的信号，当然对登山的人有好处，他们能受益，故选D。
【小题2】细节理解题。根据This is a great milestone for mobile munications as the 3G high speed Internet will bring faster, more affordable telemunication services from the world’s tallest mountain可知 3G是非常快的和方便的，故选A。
【小题3】细节理解题。根据Ncell, a branch pany of Swedish phone giant TeliaSonera, 及Ncell Nepal chief Pasi Koistinen可知Pasi Koistinen 负责TeliaSonera公司，故选C。
【小题4】标题归纳题。纵观全文主要叙述了在海拔很高的珠穆朗玛峰可以收到了3G的服务信号，故选B。