The COVID-19 disaster will have many losers，but it already has one clear winner：big tech．The large digital platforms，including Alphabet and Facebook，will come out of the crisis even stronger．They should use this good chance to reset their sometimes tense relations with their users．Otherwise the government is likely to do it for them．
Demand for online services has exploded and the infrastructure behind the internet has proved to be admirably reliable．Newcomers such as Slack and Zoom，which help businesses operate remotely，have become household names．Facebook has said that messaging activity has increased by 50% in those countries hit hard by the virus．Amazon is planning to hire 100，000 new staff to keep up with higher e-commerce．
Just as the big firms are standing even taller，many of the tech industry's younger，smaller firms are being crushed since the dotcom crash 20 years ago．Even before the coronavirus hit，trouble was starting to develop．Among many firms catering to consumers，the strategy of growing at all costs had turned out to be problematic．Some firms had already started laying off people．All this will make it easier for the big firms to hire the best talent．
Ifthat happens，it is likely that regulators will do little or nothing to stop a round of expansion．In America antitrust（反壟斷） investigations against Alphabet，Google's parent，and Facebook have essentially been put on hold，as officials deal with other priorities during a crisis．A new federal privacy law seems further away than ever．Even tech skeptics in the European Union want to rethink their approach to regulating artificial intelligence（AI）．In an abrupt twist，big tech's business practice is essential to deal with the virus．Yet before COVID-19，such activity would have caused howls of great anger over privacy and prejudice．
In fact，more than ever it is clear that big tech firms play vital roles．There lies the trap，because almost everywhere other big firms，such as water or electricity，are heavily regulated and have their prices and profits capped（規(guī)定限額）．Once this crisis passes，concerned citizens and governments could make a push for the state to have similar control over big tech．
The companies seem to sense this danger．Their best defence is to propose a new deal to the citizens of the world．That means clear rules on how they publish and moderate content，helping users own，control and profit from their own data，as well as fair treatment of competitors that use their platforms．This approach may even be more profitable in the long run．Today the most valuable firm in America is Microsoft，which has been more successful by building a reputation for being trustworthy．
（1）The writer suggests the big techs use the outbreak of COVID-19 to BB．
A．escape from the crisis of large digital platforms
B．improve their relationship with their users
C．a(chǎn)sk for help from the government
D．demand more online services and reliable infrastructure
（2）What has led big tech firms' business to increase rapidly？ DD
A．The crush of the tech industry．
B．The strategy of growing at all costs．
C．The stricter antitrust investigations．
D．The loosened government regulations．
（3）What does "that" in Paragraph 4 refer to？ AA
A．The easier access of best tech talents to big tech firms．
B．The severe unemployment rate in companies．
C．The fast spread of the coronavirus．
D．A new round of expansion of big firms．
（4）In Paragraph 6，Microsoft is used as an example of AA．
A．benefiting from good relations with its users
B．catering to consumers whatever they want
C．sensing danger from other big firms in time
D．being heavily regulated by the government
【考點(diǎn)】說(shuō)明文．
【答案】B；D；A；A
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
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發(fā)布：2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷：31引用：3難度：0.5
相似題
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1．If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station，you don't need to feel surprised.They are a flash mob（快閃族），which is a group of people who come together suddenly in a public place，do something unusual for a brief period of time，and then quickly break up.They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communication network.
At a predetermined time，they gather and perform some distractions（消遣）such as waving their hands and exchanging books.Then，they quickly break up before the police can arrive.Using mobile phones the flash mob can change its location if the first one has been replaced for any reason.
Bill Lasik，senior editor of Harper's Magazine，organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob came together on June 3，2003--after the first attempt was foiled at Macy's department store.Lasik claimed that the activity was designed to make fun of hipsters（時(shí)髦的人），and call attention to the cultural atmosphere.
Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people.Such an activity might seem amusing and untrue，but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place.Undoubtedly，flash mobs can serve as good political tools in any direction.They also have great economic potential，such as using flash mobs to advertise a product.
The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular.People use it to do many things.For example，in 2009，Michael Jackson's fans took part in a flash mob to remember him.Hundreds of his fans gathered singing and dancing Michael's famous song Beat It together.Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.
（1）The underlined word "foiled" in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by "".
A．forgotten
B．prevented
C．a(chǎn)nnounced
D．confirmed
（2）What can you learn about the flash mob from the passage？
A．The flash mob usually breaks up quickly for lacking enough time.
B．Once the place for the activity is determined，it can't be changed.
C．The flash mob can be made use of in many fields for fun.
D．It gives people the chance to come together to do something unusual.
（3）The main purpose of the passage is to.
A．entertain
B．encourage
C．inform
D．persuade
（4）The writers attitude towards the flash mob is.
A．negative
B．objective
C．favorable
D．doubtful發(fā)布：2024/12/20 8:0:13組卷：17引用：2難度：0.5 -
2．The world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago．Recent NASA satellites data（2000-2017）have shown that human activities in China and India dominate this greening of the planet，thanks to ambitious tree-planting programmes in China and intensive agriculture in both countries．
The researchers from Boston University found that global green leaf area has increased by 5 percent in the new century，an area equal to all of the Amazon rainforest．China alone accounts for 25% of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6% of global vegetated area．China's contribution comes in large part from its programmes to conserve and expand forests，taking up about 42 percent of the greening．The greening from farmlands in China is about 32%，but that in India is about 82%．
Rama Nemani，a research scientist at NASA's Ames Research Centre and a co-author of the study said， "When the greening of the Earth was first observed，we thought it was due to a warmer，wetter climate and fertilization from the added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere．But with data from NASA satellites，scientists realized that humans are also contributing，which was all against our expectations．"
Nemani sees a positive message in the new findings． "Once people realize there is a problem，they tend to fix it，" he said． "In the 1970s and 1980s in India and China，the situation around vegetation loss was not good．In the 1990s，people realized it，and today things have improved．Humans are incredibly resilient．That is what we see in the satellite data．"
However，the researchers rang bells as well．They said that the gain in global greenness did not necessarily make up for the loss of natural vegetation in regions like Brazil and Indonesia．
（1）What is the second paragraph mainly about？
A．The decreasing size of the Amazon rainforest．
B．China's bigger contribution to global greening．
C．Total global green leaf area in the new century．
D．China's programmes to conserve and expand forests．
（2）What surprised scientists regarding global greening？
A．Human activities．
B．Suitable for analyzing data．
C．A warmer and wetter climate．
D．Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere．
（3）What does the underlined word "resilient" probably mean？
A．Good at making programmes．
B．Suitable for analyzing data．
C．Able to make corrections．
D．Active in planting trees．
（4）What does the last paragraph imply？
A．It is urgent to protect global natural resources．
B．Much remains to be done for global greenness．
C．Brazil and Indonesia lose most of their vegetation．
D．Global greenness needs all countries to work together．發(fā)布：2024/12/20 5:0:3組卷：7引用：1難度：0.6 -
3．Our dog Sandy is a golden retriever（尋回犬）.Once we performed an experiment to see how keen his nose was.There was one particular pile that must have had hundreds of sticks.We picked up one stick carved an X on it，walked away from the pile and then threw it back into the pile，not once but a dozen times into the pile.It was impossible for us to tell with any certainty which slick we had originally chosen.Each time he brought back that stick，It wasn't the shape or the size or the look of the stick that he used to pick it out from all the others.It was the smell we left on the stick.It is hard to imagine，hut for dogs every living creature has its own distinctive smell.
The noses of people have about 5 million cells that sense smell.Dogs' noses have anywhere from 125 to 300 million cells.Moreover，these cells are closer to the surface than cells in our noses，and more active.It has been estimated that dogs such as Sandy have noses that are a million times more sensitive than ours.Clothes that we haven't worn for weeks，and places we've only touched lightly indicate our presence to dogs.
His ears are also remarkable.He can hear sounds that humans can't and at distances which are astonishing.It is over our head to know and understand that world.Yet we have the advantage of being able to imagine what his experience is like，though he probably doesn't think too much about how we see the world.
The environment is the world that all living things share.Living creatures are born into the environment and are part of it.Yet there is no creature who perceives（感知到）all of what is and what happens.For a dog like Sandy a book isn't much different than a stick，whereas for us one stick is pretty much like every other stick.There is no one world experienced by all living creatures.
（1）Why did the author conduct the experiment？
A．To train Sandy to pick out sticks.
B．To show how fast Sandy found sticks.
C．To prove sensitivity of Sandy's nose.
D．To teach Sandy to tell different smells.
（2）What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2？
A．Support the conclusion with numbers.
B．Summarize the previous paragraph.
C．Provide some advice for the readers.
D．Introduce a new topic for discussion.
（3）What does the underlined idiom in paragraph 3 mean？
A．Amazing.
B．Difficult.
C．Reasonable.
D．Inconvenient.
（4）Which of the following best expresses the authors opinion in the last paragraph？
A．Worlds to experience.
B．An environment to share.
C．No environment，no creatures.
D．One environment，many worlds.發(fā)布：2024/12/18 14:30:1組卷：5引用：2難度：0.5
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