A new commodity brings about a highly profitable,fast-growing industry, urging antitrust（反垄断）regulators to step in to check those who control its flow. A century ago ,the resource in question was oil. Now similar concerns ares being raised by the giants（巨头）that deal in data, the oil of the digital age. The most valuable firms are Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. All look unstoppable.
Such situations have led to calls for the tech giants to be broken up. But size alone is not a crime. The giants' success has benefited consumers. Few want to live without search engines or a quick delivery, Far from charging consumers high prices, many of these services are free (users pay, in effect, by handing over yet more data). And the appearance of new-born giants suggests that newcomers can make waves, too.
But there is cause for concern. The internet has made data abundant, all-present and far more valuable, changing the nature of data and competition. Google initially used the data collected from users to target advertising better. But recently it has discovered that data can be turned into new services: translation and visual recognition, to be sold to other companies. Internet companies' control of data gives them enormous power. So they have a "God's eye view" of activities in their own markets and beyond.
This nature of data makes the antitrust measures of the past less useful. Breaking up firms like Google into five small ones would not stop remaking themselves: in time, one of them would become great again. A rethink is required-and as a new approach starts to become apparent, two ideas stand out.
The first is that antitrust authorities need to move form the industrial age into the 21st century. When considering a merger(兼并), for example, they have traditionally used size to determine when to step in. They now need to take into account the extent of firms' data assets(资产) when assessing the impact of deals. The purchase price could also be a signal that an established company is buying a new-born threat. When this takes place, especially when a new-born company has no revenue to speak of, the regulators should raise red flags.
The second principle is to loosen the control that providers of on-line services have over data and give more to those who supply them.Companies could be forced to consumers what information they hold and how much money they make from it. Governments could order the sharing of certain kinds of data, with users' consent.
Restarting antitrust for the information age will not be easy But if governments don't wants a data economy by a few giants, they must act soon.
61.Why is there a call to break up giants?
| A． |
They have controlled the data market |
| B． |
They collect enormous private data |
| C． |
They no longer provide free services |
| D． |
They dismissed some new-born giants |
62.What does the technological innovation in Paragraph 3 indicate?
| A． |
Data giants' technology is very expensive |
| B． |
Google's idea is popular among data firms |
| C． |
Data can strengthen giants' controlling position |
| D． |
Data can be turned into new services or products |
63.By paying attention to firms' data assets, antitrust regulators could .
| A． |
kill a new threat |
| B． |
avoid the size trap |
| C． |
favour bigger firms |
| D． |
charge higher prices |
64.What is the purpose of loosening the giants' control of data?
| A． |
Big companies could relieve data security pressure. |
| B． |
Governments could relieve their financial pressure. |
| C． |
Consumers could better protect their privacy. |
| D． |
Small companies could get more opportunities. |
The power of humor and laughter is numerous. They entertain us and make us feel good. But, above all, we have discovered that humor and laughter are the best medicine. They relieve pain, reduce stress and anxiety, and are anti-aging and longevity facilitators.
They are extremely necessary for helping us to find and maintain a balance between life and work. However, they are slipping away from us. We have become far too serious. The only ones who still enjoy humor, laughter, fun and play to the fullest are young children. Children tend to laugh an average of 200 times a day. For adults, however, it is a totally different story.
In the 1950s people laughed on average 18 times a day. Today, we are lucky if we average between 4-6 times a day.
As a matter of fact, a recent study found that people laugh 6 more times in the presence of one person but 30 more times in a group of people. You can get a chuckle(咯咯笑) from jokes you get on the Internet, but it is not the same as belly jiggling laughter (a deep laugh) you get when you interact with others.
Socializing with friends and relatives was much looked forward to. However, this is no longer the case. In fact, the majority of people can hardly find time, nor do they have the inclination towards socializing outside home. They turn to electronic media such as television, computers, the Internet, videos, CDs, and audio equipment, which can provide them with instant self-entertainment at the push of a button.
The workplace does not fare(进展) much better. Due to the pressures to produce more in the same or fewer hours available and to compete, for example, in a manufacturing field with cheaper labor elsewhere in the world, humor and laughter in the workplace have gradually eroded（逐渐毁坏） away.
I have developed a real appreciation, perhaps closer to a strong desire for the power of humor and laughter. This encouraged me to write my first book titled “The Power of Humor” and subsequently my second book titled “Kids Say the Goggonest Things” based on the natural humor, laughter, play and fun that kids experience and they freely share with parents, grandparents and teachers.
From writing about humor and laughter, people start to ask me to speak up for them. To date, I have developed a number of humor-laughter topics that I use in my keynote presentations. You are invited to subscribe to my free monthly e-magazine “The Humormeister’s Forum” by clicking on the Free Humor E-zine navigation button on the website. According to the author, laughter is leaving us partly because ________.
| A．we treat everything in a serious way |
| B．it relieves pain, reduces stress and anxiety |
| C．we fail to maintain balance between life and work |
| D．the pace of change in our lives is becoming faster |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us that ________.
| A．getting a deep laugh nowadays is difficult |
| B．we can entertain ourselves with the help of the Internet |
| C．people laugh more heartily when spending time with others |
| D．researchers have made a new discovery about the effect of laughter |
The underlined word “inclination” in Paragraph 5 most probably means “________”.
| A．destination | B．tendency |
| C．attitude | D．approach |
Which of the following articles can we most probably find in “The Humormeister’s Forum”?
| A．The power of honesty. |
| B．Don’t be your own worst enemy. |
| C．Live life purposefully: The relationship within. |
| D．Funny Christmas stories to share with your loved ones. |
Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when MR. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
‘‘I would never have said to my mom, Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?”says Ballmer. There was just a complete gap in taste. Music was not the only distance. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectation: earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families: Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, "To my mother, my best friend."
But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parent. “ There's still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening," says Kerne, a psychology professor, at Lebanon Valley College. "In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents."
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic（民主） process that encourages everyone to have a say,
“My parents were on the 'before' side of that change, but today's parents. the 40-year-old were on the 'after' side," explains Mr. Ballmer. "It's not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now."
Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?
| A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities. |
| B．Parents put more trust in their children's abilities. |
| C．Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs. |
| D．Parents share more interests with their children. |
The change in today's parent-child relationship is ________.
| A．more confusion among parents |
| B．new equality between parents and children |
| C．less respect for parents from children . |
| D．more strictness and authority on the part of parents . |
By saying "today's parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the “after' side." the author means that today's parents _________.
| A．follow the trend o f the change |
| B．can set a limit to the change |
| C．fail to take the-change seriously |
| D．have little difficulty adjusting to the change |
The purpose of the passage is to ________.
| A．describe the difficulties today's parents have met with |
| B．discuss the development of the parent-child relationship |
| C．suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relationship |
| D．compare today's parent-child relationship with that in the past |
China is going green.In order to reduce air pollution and oil shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market. Toyota's hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let's have a look at the new car.
Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline. Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditionalgasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising (匀速行驶). A speciallydesigned battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration is needed.
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than atraditional car. At this point, the car's gasoline engine is dormant (休眠). The electric motor will providepower until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.
The onboard(车载的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to goelectric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.
The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator and produce electricity to recharge the batteries.As a consequence, the car's batteries will last for around 200,000 miles.The author writes this passage mainly to________.
| A．teach people how to drive a hybrid car |
| B．show how to save their gasoline when driving a car |
| C．introduce a new kind of "green" car |
| D．announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China |
The first sentence probably refers to ________.
| A．there will be more and more green land in China |
| B．China has started producing environmentally friendly cars |
| C．China's new cars are combinations of different green models |
| D．China is still young and lacking experience |
What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?
| A．They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones. |
| B．They are much quieter than traditional cars. |
| C．They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills. |
| D．They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline. |
It was time for Mr. Rocco to shut up shop when I hurried into the florist’s. “Now, what is it that you want?” Mr. Rocco turned to me. “I want the most beautiful flower you have.” I replied, “And just how much do you have to pay for this most beautiful flower?” I held out a wet hand showing a quarter and dime. He nodded, and then showed me a plant on the counter “I can give you this one for 35 cents.” he said，“ Aw, gee,” I protested, “it looks like a weed!” About l 8 inches high, the plant was in a small pot covered with faded red paper.“ Now trust me, boy---I promise that tomorrow morning when you get up, you will find your most beautiful flower. ”said Mr. Rocco. I knew him to be a good honest man, so I agreed to take it.
It was almost midnight when I arrived home. Mom was seriously sick and using the front bedroom. I looked in to see if she was asleep, and then quietly tiptoed in and set the plant on the table beside her bed. I wanted her to be surprised when she woke on Mother’s Day. The next morning, I dressed and hurried downstairs. The sun was shining through kitchen window as I looked into Mom’s room. She motioned for me to come in, then glanced over at the table where the plant was. Holy mackerel! There were three big yellow trumpet-shaped blooms. It was just like Mr. Rocco said---the most beautiful flower I ever saw! When I looked at Mom, she was smiling as tears streamed down her cheeks. She held out her hand for me to come near, then pulled me close and hugged till it hurt. Then, remembering her contagious condition and that she wasn’t supposed to touch me, she quickly let me go.
My dear Mom died the next night. The moment she hugged me turned out to be the most wonderful moment of my life. Not only had that beautiful plant helped show just how much I loved her, but I'd always know how much she loved me.
The author didn’t like the plant recommended by Mr. Rocco at first because ________.
| A．the packing of the plant was shabby |
| B．the plant was actually a weed |
| C．the plant appeared too ordinary to be the most beautiful |
| D．he thought Mr. Rocco was reluctant to do the deal with him |
Mother’s condition was contagious (Line 6, Para 3) for .
| A．she was at the death’s door |
| B．she suffered from the illness |
| C．others were sick of her appearance |
| D．virus might spread from her to others |
When mother hugged the author tightly, she was showing that ____ .
| A．she liked being given gifts |
| B．she valued what the author had done for her |
| C．she was aware of the approaching death |
| D．she was touched by the beauty of the flower |
Which may be the best title of the passage?
| A．Flowers of Love | B．A Son’s Love for Mother |
| C．Low Price, High Value | D．A Special Mother’s Day |
All over the world, and for many different reasons, there are millions of people who rarely or never eat meat. These people are called vegetarians. To people who eat meat, being a vegetarian may seem like a very strange thing, diets for several different reasons.
First, vegetarians have an enormous health advantage. One of the major health problems in modern societies is not too much protein but too much fat, especially in the form of animal fats. Medical evidence suggests that animal fats, including butter, contribute to the development of cholesterol in the human body. High amount of cholesterol seem to be part of the cause of heart disease. Most vegetarians have low level of cholesterol. High amounts of animal fats also seem to lead to certain kinds of cancer, and vegetarians are typically less vulnerable to these cancers than people who eat a lot of meat. Overall, studies comparing the health of vegetarians and meat-eaters show that the meat-eaters are twice as likely to die of heart disease as vegetarians are.
Better health is one reason that people choose to become vegetarians. Another reason is religion. Some religions forbid the eating of meat. The largest of these is the Hindu religion, which has about 600 million believers in the world. Although not all Hindus are vegetarian, many are, and there are many believers of other religions such Buddhism and even some Christian religions that also do not eat meat.
Many vegetarians do not eat meat simply because they do not like the taste of it. They have no religious or philosophical reasons; they just do not like meat. Another important reason that vegetarians give for not eating meat is the health advantages that were given above. Lastly, there are many people who do not eat meat because they just do not like the idea of killing animals for food. They believe that life, all life, is valuable , and that we do not have to destroy life to feed ourselves when there are other good sources of food.According to the passage, people choose to be vegetarians for the following reasons EXCEPT________.
| A．they want to stay healthy |
| B．they are too kind to put the idea of killing animals |
| C．they live in areas where meat supply is not adequate |
| D．they should not eat meat due to their religious belief |
Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2 ?
| A．Vegetarians enjoy a more healthy life than the meat eaters. |
| B．Heart disease and cancer are caused by large amounts of protein. |
| C．There are twice as many meat-eaters as vegetarians who die of cancer. |
| D．There are less health problems in modern society due to advanced medical care. |
What does “vulnerable” mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．Having low level of cholesterol. |
| B．Having high level of cholesterol. |
| C．Having weak ability to resist diseases and harms. |
| D．Having strong ability to resist disease and harms. |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
| A．being a vegetarian may be a very strange thing |
| B．vegetarians eat meat on some special occasions |
| C．all vegetarians have reasons for their not eating meat |
| D．most vegetarians believe that life without meat is happy. |
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