The power and ambition of the giants of the digital economy is astonishing —Amazon has just announced the purchase of the upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.5bn, but two years ago Facebook paid even more than that to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, which doesn’t have any physical product at all. What WhatsApp offered Facebook was an intricate and finely detailed web of its users’ friendships and social lives.
Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities, but it broke the promise almost as soon as the deal went through. Even without knowing what was in the messages, the knowledge of who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be. What political journalist, what party whip, would not want to know the makeup of the WhatsApp groups in which Theresa May’s enemies are currently plotting? It may be that the value of Whole Foods to Amazon is not so much the 460 shops of owns, but the records of which customers have purchased what.
Competition law appears to be the only way to address these imbalances of power. But it is clumsy. For one thing, it is very slow compared to the pace of change within the digital economy. By the time a problem has been addressed and remedied it may have vanished in the marketplace, to be replaced by new abuses of power. But there is a deeper conceptual problem, too. Competition law as presently interpreted deals with financial disadvantage to consumers and this is not obvious when the users of these services don’t pay for them. The users of their services are not their customers. That would be the people who buy advertising from them — and Facebook and Google, the two virtual giants, dominate digital advertising to the disadvantage of all other media and entertainment companies.
The product they’re selling is data, and we, the users, convert our lives to data for the benefit of the digital giants. Just as some ants farm the bugs called aphids for the honeydew they produce when they feed, so Google farms us for the data that our digital liver yield. Ants keep enemy insects away from where their aphids(蚜虫) feed; Gmail keeps the spammers out of our inboxes. It doesn't feel like a human or democratic relationship, even if both sides benefit.
1.According to Paragraph1,Facebook acquired WhatsApp for its________.
A. digital products B. user information
C. physical assets D. quality service
2.Linking phone numbers to Facebook identities may________.
A. worsen political disputes B. mess up customer records
C. pose a risk to Facebook users D. mislead the European commission
3.Competition law as presently interpreted can hardly protect Facebook users because________.
A. they are no defined as customers B. they are not financially reliable
C. these services are generally digital D. the services are paid for by advertisers
4.The ants analogy is used to illustrate_________.
A. a win-win business model between digital giants
B. a typical competition pattern among digital giants
C. the benefits provided for digital giants' customers
D. the relationship between digital giants and their users
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
The power and ambition of the giants of the digital economy is astonishing —Amazon has just announced the purchase of the upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.5bn, but two years ago Facebook paid even more than that to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, which doesn’t have any physical product at all. What WhatsApp offered Facebook was an intricate and finely detailed web of its users’ friendships and social lives.
Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities, but it broke the promise almost as soon as the deal went through. Even without knowing what was in the messages, the knowledge of who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be. What political journalist, what party whip, would not want to know the makeup of the WhatsApp groups in which Theresa May’s enemies are currently plotting? It may be that the value of Whole Foods to Amazon is not so much the 460 shops of owns, but the records of which customers have purchased what.
Competition law appears to be the only way to address these imbalances of power. But it is clumsy. For one thing, it is very slow compared to the pace of change within the digital economy. By the time a problem has been addressed and remedied it may have vanished in the marketplace, to be replaced by new abuses of power. But there is a deeper conceptual problem, too. Competition law as presently interpreted deals with financial disadvantage to consumers and this is not obvious when the users of these services don’t pay for them. The users of their services are not their customers. That would be the people who buy advertising from them — and Facebook and Google, the two virtual giants, dominate digital advertising to the disadvantage of all other media and entertainment companies.
The product they’re selling is data, and we, the users, convert our lives to data for the benefit of the digital giants. Just as some ants farm the bugs called aphids for the honeydew they produce when they feed, so Google farms us for the data that our digital liver yield. Ants keep enemy insects away from where their aphids(蚜虫) feed; Gmail keeps the spammers out of our inboxes. It doesn't feel like a human or democratic relationship, even if both sides benefit.
1.According to Paragraph1,Facebook acquired WhatsApp for its________.
A. digital products B. user information
C. physical assets D. quality service
2.Linking phone numbers to Facebook identities may________.
A. worsen political disputes B. mess up customer records
C. pose a risk to Facebook users D. mislead the European commission
3.Competition law as presently interpreted can hardly protect Facebook users because________.
A. they are no defined as customers B. they are not financially reliable
C. these services are generally digital D. the services are paid for by advertisers
4.The ants analogy is used to illustrate_________.
A. a win-win business model between digital giants
B. a typical competition pattern among digital giants
C. the benefits provided for digital giants' customers
D. the relationship between digital giants and their users
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The power and ambition of the giants of the digital economy is astonishing — Amazon has just announced the purchase of the upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.5bn, but two years ago Facebook paid even more than that to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, which doesn’t have any physical product at all. What WhatsApp offered Facebook was an intricate and finely detailed web of its users’ friendships and social lives.
Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities, but it broke the promise almost as soon as the deal went through. Even without knowing what was in the messages, the knowledge of who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be. What political journalist, what party whip, would not want to know the makeup of the WhatsApp groups in which Theresa May’s enemies are currently plotting? It may be that the value of Whole Foods to Amazon is not so much the 460 shops of owns, but the records of which customers have purchased what.
Competition law appears to be the only way to address these imbalances of power. But it is clumsy. For one thing, it is very slow compared to the pace of change within the digital economy. By the time a problem has been addressed and remedied it may have vanished in the marketplace, to be replaced by new abuses of power. But there is a deeper conceptual problem, too. Competition law as presently interpreted deals with financial disadvantage to consumers and this is not obvious when the users of these services don’t pay for them. The users of their services are not their customers. That would be the people who buy advertising from them — and Facebook and Google, the two virtual giants, dominate digital advertising to the disadvantage of all other media and entertainment companies.
The product they’re selling is data, and we, the users, convert our lives to data for the benefit of the digital giants. Just as some ants farm the bugs called aphids for the honeydew they produce when they feed, so Google farms us for the data that our digital lives yield. Ants keep enemy insects away from where their aphids (蚜虫) feed; Gmail keeps the spammers out of our inboxes. It doesn't feel like a human or democratic relationship, even if both sides benefit.
1.According to Paragraph1, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for its________.
A.digital products B.user information
C.physical assets D.quality service
2.Linking phone numbers to Facebook identities may________.
A.worsen political disputes B.mess up customer records
C.pose a risk to Facebook users D.mislead the European commission
3.Competition law as presently interpreted can hardly protect Facebook users because________.
A.they are no defined as customers B.they are not financially reliable
C.these services are generally digital D.the services are paid for by advertisers
4.The ants analogy is used to illustrate_________.
A.a win-win business model between digital giants
B.a typical competition pattern among digital giants
C.the benefits provided for digital giants' customers
D.the relationship between digital giants and their users
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
With the development of economy, our country is becoming more and more powerful ____ financial situation.
A.on account of B.in terms of C.on behalf of D.in place of
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Rich and Famous
Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today’s situation is quite different. 1. Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, a pop star, or an actor—in other words, they hope to become a celebrity .
According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame. 2. Let’s take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes’ best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they’ll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control. 3.The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.
In spite of these disadvantages, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living—they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months.4.They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.
While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals. 5. That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won’t realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.
A. In many ways this has been brought about by the celebrity culture.
B. People no longer have a sense of satisfaction once their goals have been achieved.
C. Besides, it can be difficult for them to adapt back to a normal everyday life.
. The younger generation don’t favor these professions any more.
E. Unfortunately, they do not always have a positive effect on people’s life.
F. The reason is that they don’t realize it takes talent and hard work to be rich and famous.
G. This quick way of gaining wealth and fame creates a celebrity culture among people.
高三英语七选五困难题查看答案及解析
Rich and Famous
Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today's situation is quite different.1. Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, a pop star, or an actor-in other words,they hope to become a celebrity .
According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame.2. Let's take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes' best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they'll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control.3. The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.
In spite of these disadvantages, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living-they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months.4. They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.
While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals.5.That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won't realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.
A. The younger generation don't favor these professions any more.
B. In many ways this has been brought about by the celebrity culture.
C. Unfortunately, they do not always have a positive effect on people's life.
D. Besides, it can be difficult for them to adapt back to a normal everyday life.
E. People no longer have a sense of satisfaction once their goals have been achieved.
F. This quick way of gaining wealth and fame creates a celebrity culture among people.
G. The reason is that they don't realize it takes talent and hard work to be rich and famous.
高三英语七选五困难题查看答案及解析
We appreciated his______of time and money to the project.
A.devotion B.acquisition C.ambition D.appreciation
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The auto industry, aviation (航空) giants and lots of new companies are increasingly entering the race toward producing flying cars and air taxis, many of which are said to be fully electric. On the surface, there are so many innovations happening that it’s easy to forget that the world hasn’t even seen a fully autonomous car yet, let alone an electric flying vehicle you can park in your driveway.
In fact, there are several hurdles before people are riding through the air. “They are short on technology, and they are short on regulation.” said Jennings-Bates, vice president of a car company.
Uber and Boeing, both world famous companies, have announced ambitious plans for air taxis. However, the types of vehicles they have in mind would require magical electric batteries that don’t exist yet.
Whether the United States actually needs flying cars remains relatively unclear. Aviation experts say that air vehicles help solve congestion problems in big cities. “Today, we have a lot of traffic congestion on the roadways,” said Laurie Garrow, associate director for the Center for Urban and Regional Air Mobility at Georgia Tech. “Air taxis would provide a solution for that.” Others argue that putting traffic in the skies doesn’t solve very much. “We aren’t going to change the world in terms of traffic with flying cars,” said Jennings-Bates. “At best, it may take the place of traffic in the area, which is arguably less pleasant.”
Some experts say it’s not a question of whether flying cars will take off. Instead, it’s a question of how soon the concepts would be safe enough for humans to occupy. “Everyone is very excited and they’re coming up with very different designs,” Garrow said. “But you have a lengthy certification process that will need to go through to make sure the craft and flights are safe.” She estimates that it’ll be about 20 years before the U.S. sees more than test flights.
1.What can we infer about flying cars from Paragraph 1?
A.They are fully electric. B.They are unavailable yet.
C.They need special driveway. D.They equal autonomous cars.
2.What does the underlined “hurdles” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Ambitious plans. B.Big problems.
C.Electric batteries. D.Current innovations.
3.According to Garrow, what’s the main concern about flying cars?
A.Test flights. B.Design.
C.Production. D.Safety.
4.What does the text mainly talk about?
A.Why we should produce flying cars. B.How hard the race of making flying cars is.
C.How close we are to seeing flying cars. D.What people’s opinions are about flying cars.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The systemn has been designed to give students quick and easy to the digital resources of the library.
A.access B.passage C.way D.approach
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The system has been designed to give students quick and easy to the digital resources of the library.
A. access B. passage C. way D. approach
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, the largest global gaming provider and the operator of QQ, an instant messaging software service, has launched a series of scientific exploration events aimed at encouraging young people to explore the outside world, instead of being continuously absorbed online.
“QQ has been in the market for 18 years, but it is not aging, and its application has become younger and trendier. We hope that more young Chinese can use the app to connect with different people and views worldwide. We never worry about losing game players. Instead, we hope that players can actually go out to learn more,” said Li Dan, general manager of marketing department of the social network group at Tencent.
China’s gaming market netted (净赚) sales revenues of 218.96 billion yuan ( $33.75 billion) in 2017, jumping 23.1 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of mobile gain players in China reached 462 million, adding 10 percent over the last year. According to Tencent the number of active users of QQ, who are 21 years old or younger, has been increasing, and they tend to use the app for a longer time.
Starting May 22 of last year, QQ organized free trips for young people to Galapagos, Namibia, Spain and the Antarctic, but it didn’t reveal the specific amount it contributed to those trips. During each trip, it selected three to four participants from those who uploaded videos and made specific travel plans online. The finalists stand out with their clear video statements and their enthusiasm about going on adventures.
“Tencent’s approach appears to be contradictory with its own interests. But, in fact, this is consistent with the company’s long-term growth strategy and will promote its business by establishing a good social image,” said Neil Wang, president of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan in China.
1.Tencent has launched a series of scientific exploration events to _______.
A. bring in more profits
B. increase the number of its game users
C. make young Chinese use its app while exploring nature
D. encourage youngsters to connect more with the outside world
2.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. QQ was started in the early 1990s.
B. Tencent is not worried about the loss of game users.
C. The public knew how much Tencent spent on the exploring trips.
D. The number of mobile game players in China last year was about 462 million.
3.Those chosen to go on the trips by Tencent ________.
A. are people from different age groups
B. can be offered a chance to go abroad
C. should upload videos to introduce themselves
D. have to pay for their own food and accommodation
4.From the last phragraph, we can infer the attitude of Neil Wang towards Tencent’s approach is ________.
A. approving B. critical
C. unclear D. skeptical
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析