Everywhere you look, large quantities of information in the world are pouring. This data flood is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life. It has great potential for good — as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it.
A few industries have led the way in their ability to gather and take advantage of the data. Credit-card companies monitor every purchase and can identify cheats with a high degree of accuracy. Stolen credit cards are more likely to be used to buy hard liquor than wine, for example, because it is easier to overlook. Insurance firms are also good at combining clues to spot doubtful claims: dishonest claims are more likely to be made on a Monday than a Tuesday, since policyholders (保险客户) who stage accidents tend to assemble friends as false witnesses over the weekend. By combining many such rules, it is possible to work out which cards are likeliest to have been stolen, and which claims are untrue. By analyzing “basket data”, supermarkets can make promotions to appeal to particular customers’ preferences. The oil industry uses supercomputers to help them before drilling wells.
But the data flood also poses risks. There are many examples of databases being stolen: disks full of social-security data go missing, laptops loaded with tax records are left in taxis, credit-card numbers are stolen by online purchase. The result can be privacy made public, identity stolen and cheats permitted large space. Rather than owning and controlling their own personal data, they very often find that they have lost control of it.
The best way to deal with the data flood is to make more data available in the right way, by requiring greater transparency in several areas. First, users should be given greater access to and control over the information held about them, including whom it is shared with. Google allows users to see what information it holds about them, and lets them delete their search histories or modify the targeting of advertising, for example. Second, organizations should be required to disclose details of security breaches (安全漏洞), as is already the case in some parts of the world, to encourage bosses to take information security more seriously. Third, organizations should be subject to an annual security check, with the resulting grade made public (though details of any problems exposed would not be). This would encourage companies to keep their security measures up to date.
1.What is the best title for this passage?
A. Information Flood B. Benefits of Data Flood
C. Harms of Data Flood D. How to Use Data in a Right Way
2.From the passage we can infer that _____.
A. lots of data are lost because of hardware problems
B. online purchases are becoming more and more popular
C. credit cards are not so secure to use and will go out of use very soon
D. insurance firms have to investigate before they confirm their policyholders’ claims
3.Which of the following is the writer’s opinion about how to deal with the data flood?
A. Personal information should be used for public benefits.
B. The users should be given the right to access public information.
C. Companies should update their measures to guarantee their data safety.
D. Organizations should keep their resulting grade of security checks unknown to the public.
4.From the passage we can conclude that _____.
A. the data flood makes peoples’ life less convenient and more expensive
B. companies and insurance firms are responsible for the data flood
C. the information flood is more useful to organizations than to individuals
D. the information flood has both positive and negative influence on modern life
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
Everywhere you look, large quantities of information in the world are pouring. This data flood is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life. It has great potential for good — as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it.
A few industries have led the way in their ability to gather and take advantage of the data. Credit-card companies monitor every purchase and can identify cheats with a high degree of accuracy. Stolen credit cards are more likely to be used to buy hard liquor than wine, for example, because it is easier to overlook. Insurance firms are also good at combining clues to spot doubtful claims: dishonest claims are more likely to be made on a Monday than a Tuesday, since policyholders (保险客户) who stage accidents tend to assemble friends as false witnesses over the weekend. By combining many such rules, it is possible to work out which cards are likeliest to have been stolen, and which claims are untrue. By analyzing “basket data”, supermarkets can make promotions to appeal to particular customers’ preferences. The oil industry uses supercomputers to help them before drilling wells.
But the data flood also poses risks. There are many examples of databases being stolen: disks full of social-security data go missing, laptops loaded with tax records are left in taxis, credit-card numbers are stolen by online purchase. The result can be privacy made public, identity stolen and cheats permitted large space. Rather than owning and controlling their own personal data, they very often find that they have lost control of it.
The best way to deal with the data flood is to make more data available in the right way, by requiring greater transparency in several areas. First, users should be given greater access to and control over the information held about them, including whom it is shared with. Google allows users to see what information it holds about them, and lets them delete their search histories or modify the targeting of advertising, for example. Second, organizations should be required to disclose details of security breaches (安全漏洞), as is already the case in some parts of the world, to encourage bosses to take information security more seriously. Third, organizations should be subject to an annual security check, with the resulting grade made public (though details of any problems exposed would not be). This would encourage companies to keep their security measures up to date.
1.What is the best title for this passage?
A. Information Flood B. Benefits of Data Flood
C. Harms of Data Flood D. How to Use Data in a Right Way
2.From the passage we can infer that _____.
A. lots of data are lost because of hardware problems
B. online purchases are becoming more and more popular
C. credit cards are not so secure to use and will go out of use very soon
D. insurance firms have to investigate before they confirm their policyholders’ claims
3.Which of the following is the writer’s opinion about how to deal with the data flood?
A. Personal information should be used for public benefits.
B. The users should be given the right to access public information.
C. Companies should update their measures to guarantee their data safety.
D. Organizations should keep their resulting grade of security checks unknown to the public.
4.From the passage we can conclude that _____.
A. the data flood makes peoples’ life less convenient and more expensive
B. companies and insurance firms are responsible for the data flood
C. the information flood is more useful to organizations than to individuals
D. the information flood has both positive and negative influence on modern life
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
___ information___ stored in this computer.
A.Large quantities of, have been B.A great many, has been
C.A large quantity of, were D.Quite a lot, is
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Large quantities of information, as well as some timely help _____ since the organization was built .
A. has offered B. had been offered C. have been offered D. is offered
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
So far, large quantities of information _____ sent to the company by email, which has a great effect on improving the quality of its products.
A. has been B. have been
C. was D. were
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The number of people in the world__________ about 6 billion and large quantities of waste ____ each year.
A.total; has been produced | B.totals; is produced |
C.totals; are produced | D.total; are being produced |
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Large quantities of meat _______ sold in that store at the present time.
A. are being B. is being
C. will be D. is
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money --- often in the millions.
A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. And the money he did earn was chicken feed --- very little.
Sometimes Al even had to accept gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate(守财奴). He did not like to spend money.
One day, Al got together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery and won a great deal of money.
Al was so excited. The first thing he did was to buy a costly new car. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.
When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy.
But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money. Some might say he was penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.
1.The role of the first paragraph is to __________.
A.show the attraction of lotteries
B.tell some facts about lotteries
C.explain how to win the lottery
D.introduce the story of Al
2.Before winning the lottery, Al ____________.
A.failed to make both ends meet
B.earned nothing and borrowed money
C.once had a relatively rich family
D.didn’t know how to save money
3.The underlined word “deadbeat” in Para. 3 probably refers to a person who _______.
A.is lazy with no job to do
B.tries to avoid his debts
C.likes to spend money
D.is generous
4.What was to become of Al, according to the passage?
A.He had built up a nest egg.
B.He was a cheapskate again.
C.He felt like a million dollars.
D.He was penny wise and pound foolish.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Huge quantities of information ________available on the internet, but whether the information ________ reliable needs to be further proved.
A.is, is B.are, is C.is, are D.are, are
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
One survey shows that large quantities of water ______wasted every year in China.
A. are B. be
C. has been D. is
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Large quantities of natural resources ________ in 100 years or so.
A. will use up B. have been used up
C. will be used up D. had been used up
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析