Millions of people illegally download movies，music and video games every day，and online piracy is a serious and expensive problem．Recent figures show that 90% of files transferred over file-sharing networks are copyrighted．And it's costing the US economy up to ＄250 billion a year．At the heart of the matter there's a moral question to consider．Is it fair that someone downloads for free in seconds something that took a team of people months of hard work to create？
What are governments doing about online piracy？Some countries have passed tough new laws．The Spanish government has shut down domestic file-sharing websites and blocked access to overseas-based sites．Also，governments are going after high-profile pirates．Kim Dotcom，the owner of Megaupload．com，was arrested in New Zealand，who has been accused of piracy because many people were using his website to swap copyrighted files．
Are laws and arrests really the best way？Many people aren't so sure．The problem is that films are released at different times around the world．Kim Dotcom says that a teenager in Germany，for example，has to wait six months to see a movie that has already come out in the U．S．So，instead of waiting，they download it illegally．Kim says， "If everybody had access to content at the same time，you wouldn't have a piracy problem．"
American company Netflix lets users stream films to their TV．But many complain that Netflix's selection of movies is too small and that there aren't enough new releases．One reason is that studios release films on DVD and then，after a few months，make them available for streaming．But what actually happens is one person buys the DVD，they upload it to a file-sharing site and everyone else downloads it for free．
American law student Srikant believes that if movie studios and record companies want to beat the pirates，they need to make it just as simple and quick to get content legally． "I think people would pay for content if it's reasonably priced and it's available when they want it．" he adds．
This is already happening with music．Spotify is a program that lets you stream music to your computer for just €5 per month．And since it was launched n Sweden in 2009，online music piracy in Sweden has dropped by 25%．The key to its success lies in that Spotify has a large range of music；songs are instantly available and the service is reasonably priced．
Easy access isn't the only possible solution．Economist Glenn MacDonald thinks he has the answer．He says record companies should give albums away for free and then make money from tours and merchandising．That's not such a ridiculous idea．The heavy metal group Manowar has made a fortune from their tours，which are full of fans who discovered the band by illegally downloading the music．
Online piracy is a complex and controversial issue．And one thing is for sure：it's not going away anytime soon．
Online piracy----The issue of illegal file sharing
| Passage outline | Supporting details |
| Problems | *Recent figures show the （1） majority majority of files shared online are copyrighted．*Online piracy is such an alarming problem that it makes the economy （2） suffer suffer ． |
| Current measures and their（3） disadvantages/ drawbacks disadvantages/ drawbacks ． |
*Laws against piracy have been passed，and some website owners （4） charged charged with piracy have been arrested．*Companies like Netflix （5） allow/permit allow/permit their users to stream films to TVs． |
| *Laws and arrests can't ease the （6） lack/shortage lack/shortage of equal access to content at the same time．*Users are faced with a （7） small/narrow/limited small/narrow/limited range of films，which are released months after their DVD versions． |
|
| Other solutions to online piracy | *Spotify has set an （8） example example of instant availability and reasonably-priced service．*For music industry，giving albums away for free helps to make a（9） fortune/profit fortune/profit from tours and merchandising． |
| Conclusion | Online piracy is a complex and controversial issue，which （10） requires/needs/demands requires/needs/demands long-term efforts． |
【考點】人與自我．
【答案】majority；suffer；disadvantages/ drawbacks；charged；allow/permit；lack/shortage；small/narrow/limited；example；fortune/profit；requires/needs/demands
【解答】
【點評】
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發(fā)布：2024/6/27 10:35:59組卷：8引用：1難度：0.5
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