A new commodity brings about a highly profitable,fast-growing industry,urging antitrust(反壟斷)regulators to step in to check those who control its flow.A century ago,the resource in question was oil.Now similar concerns are being raised by the giants(巨頭) that deal in data,the oil of the digital age.The most valuable firms are Google,Amazon,F(xiàn)acebook 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 from 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(資產(chǎn))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 reveal 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 want a data economy controlled by a few giants,they must act soon.
(1)Why is there a call to break up giants? AA
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.
(2)What does the technological innovation in Paragraph 3 indicate? CC
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.
(3)By paying attention to firms' data assets,antitrust regulators could BB.
A.kill a new threat
B.a(chǎn)void the size trap
C.favour bigger firms
D.charge higher prices
(4)What is the purpose of loosening the giants' control of data? DD
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.
【答案】A;C;B;D
【解答】
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發(fā)布:2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷:3引用:1難度:0.7
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1.British children's writer Roald Dahl ate chocolates and sweets "pretty much every mealtime",remembers daughter Ophelia Dahl.
After dinner,whether dining alone or entertaining guests,Dahl would pass around a little red plastic box full of Mars Bars,Milky Ways,Maltesers,Kit Kats and much more.
He knew the history of all the sweets and could tell you exactly when they were invented. =1937 was a big year when Kit Kats (his favorite),Rolos,and Smarties (his dog,chopper's favorite) were invented.He wrote a history of chocolate,lecturing schoolchildren to commit such dates to memory,such as 1928 when "Cadbury's Fruit and Nut Bar popped up on the scene",saying don't bother with the Kings and Queens of England.All of you should learn these dates instead.Perhaps the Headmistress will see from now on that it becomes part of the major teaching in this school.
According to Dahl,the Golden Years of Chocolate were 1930-1937.In 1930,Roald Dahl was 14 years old.He was a student at Repton,a famous boys' boarding school in England.It was a tough environment:Those in authority were more interested in controlling than educating the students.
Ironically,it was at this difficult period that chocolate became Dahl's passion.Near Repton was a Cadbury chocolate factory.Every so often,Cadbury would send each schoolboy a sampler box of new chocolates to taste and grade.They were using the students - "the greatest chocolate bar experts in the world" to test out their new inventions.
This was when Dahl's imagination took flight.He pictured fiactories with inventing rooms with pots of chocolate and fudge (軟糖)and "all sorts of other delicious fillings bubbling away on the stoves".
"It was lovely dreaming those dreams…when I was looking for a plot for my second book for children,I remembered those little cardboard boxes and the newly-invented chocolates inside them,and I began to write a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
For the record,Roald Dahl did not like chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream.He said, "I prefer my chocolate straight."
(1)What can we learn about Roald Dahl?
A.He treated himself with various chocolates after dinner secretly.
B.He has a good knowledge of chocolate,especially its history.
C.He used to lecture schoolchildren of a boys,boarding school.
D.He only wrote some books related to the history of chocolate.
(2)What happened during the Golden Years of Chocolate?
A.It was a great time for children to get educated.
B.Those years stopped Dahl's interest in chocolate.
C.Students could become chocolate experts then.
D.Roald Dahl's passion for chocolate was lit up then.
(3)Which of the following can best replace the underlined phrase?
A.paid off
B.went on
C.picked up
D.took off
(4)What gave Roald Dahl inspiration to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
A.The dreams about chocolates.
B.Factories with chocolate and fudge.
C.Those boxes with chocolates.
D.Chocolate cakes and ice cream.發(fā)布:2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷:4引用:1難度:0.5 -
2.Hannah Levine decided she wanted to give hugs to all of the children and families in need at local hospitals.
Because she couldn't give them hugs one by one,Levine,then a sixth-grader,decided she would use her talents (才能) to do the next best thing.She began to knit (編織) hats,scarves,and blankets for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.Her creations also went to Bundle of Joy,a programme that provides newborn baby items for families in need,and to Knitting Pals by the Bay,a local organisation that provides hand-knitted caps to cancer patients.
"I love to knit,and I thought it would be a great idea to make all these handmade items for kids and adults who need them.It would be like a hug for them," Levine explained.
Levine started the project about a year ago. "I think it's just really fun to do,and it keeps me busy," said Levine,now 13.
Once she got started,Levine realised that her project could be much bigger than the goods she was able to produce with just her own hands.So she sent emails to her school and communities,asking for knitted donations (捐贈(zèng)物) to the project,she named "Hannah's Warm Hugs".She also posted advertisements at Starbucks and other locations in her area.The warm goods began to pour in.
"It was amazing;more strangers than people she knew started dropping donations at our door," said Levine's mother,Laura Levine. "We ended up with this huge box of items she was donating."
The knitted items numbered in the hundreds.Levine made her first round of donations around Hanukkah (an eight-day Jewish holiday in November or December) and later received thank-you letters from the organisations.Levine is still knitting,and she said the project will continue.
"It has turned into a bigger thing than she had thought," her mum said. "It made her feel pretty good;it made us feel pretty good."
(1)Hannah Levine knitted hats,scarves and blankets
A.to earn some pocket money
B.to raise money for cancer patients
C.for children and families in difficulty
D.for the homeless in her neighbourhood
(2)What can the underlined part "pour in" in Paragraph 5 best be replaced by?
A.Take off.
B.Go out.
C.Flood in.
D.Break in.
(3)What would be Laura Levine's attitude towards Hannah Levine's project?
A.Optimistic but worried.
B.Proud and supportive.
C.Worried but doubtful.
D.Unsatisfied and uncaring.
(4)What would be the best title for the text?
A.Be Ready to Lend a Helping Hand
B.Start a Project to Show Your Support
C.A 13-year-old Girl Becomes the Best Knitter
D.A Teen Turns Knitting Hobby into Heartwarming Project發(fā)布:2025/1/1 16:30:1組卷:10引用:3難度:0.5 -
3.LANZHOU-When an international olive oil competition announced its winners in Greece in late June,excitement spread across the village of Daoqi in Northwest China.
"The award-winning olive oil was made from our fruit," said Ru Ciming,50,an olive planter from the village under the city of Longnan,Gansu province.The variety of olive trees in Ru's orchard(果園)was introduced from Spajye.ai.In the eyes of locals,the foreign trees have not only pulled the city,once among the least-developed regions in China,out of poverty,but they have also brought them international fame.
Olives originated in the Mediterranean(地中海地區(qū))and their oil,often called liquid gold,is used widely in food,cosmetics and medicjye.aie.In the 1960s,the Albanian government gifted China more than 10,000 olive saplings(樹(shù)苗),which were then planted in many parts of the country on nationwide trials.Longnan began to plant olive trees in the early 1970s and experts concluded that the region was ideal for the resettlement of the olive trees due to its climate and soil condition.After years of experiments and promotion,it is now the largest olive cultivation(栽培)base in China.
In recent years,the local olive oil industry has continued to expand as Longnan has improved cooperation with Mediterranean countries that have a long history of olive planting,including Italy,Greece and Spain.The improved cooperation aims to introduce better varieties and initiate technical exchanges.
Pedro J.Rodriguez Sanchez,a Spanish olive seedling expert,was one of the early contributors to olive exchanges.He arrived in Longnan in 2009,when only half of the local olive tree seedlings had survived.His technical guidance helped raise the survival rate to over 90 percent.
Zhao Haiyun,an official in charge of promoting the olive industry in Longnan's Wudu District,said that many more European experts have arrived since Sanchez.They have visited orchards to offer guidance to farmers,and helped companies improve their processing and storage procedures.
They have helped the district,as well as the city of Longnan,to jump on the bandwagon of China's rising demand for high-quality olive oil,especially among well-off urban families,said Zhao.
(1)What can we learn from the third paragraph?
A.Olive oil is named liquid gold and has many uses.
B.The Albanian government sold some olive saplings to China.
C.Longnan has a history of about 30 years of planting olive trees.
D.Longnan is fit for the growth of olive trees due to its rich water resources.
(2)Where did Pedro J.Rodriguez Sanchez come from?
A.Italy.
B.Albania.
C.Spain.
D.Greece.
(3)Which of the following words can replace the underlined one "bandwagon" in the last paragraph?
A.Policy.
B.Habit.
C.Fashion.
D.Model.
(4)What can be the best title for the news report?
A.Olives link Northwest China with world
B.Oliver trees pull Longnan out of poverty
C.Longnan is largest olive cultivation base in China
D.Longnan improves cooperation with Mediterranean countries發(fā)布:2025/1/1 16:0:1組卷:4引用:2難度:0.5