1、Priests,teachers and parents have for generations advised their wards io think twice before speaking,to count to ten when angry and to get a good night's sleep before making big decisions.Social networks care little for seconcl thoughts.Services such as Facebook and Twitter are built to maximise"virality",making it irresistible to share,like and retweet things.They are getting better at it:fully half of the 40 most-retweeted tweets clate from January last year.Starting this month,however,users of WhatsApp,a messaging service owned by Facebook,will find it harder to spread content.They will no longer be able to forward messages to more than 20 0thers in one go,down from more than 100.The goal is not to prevent people from sharing information-only to get users to think about what they are passing on.It Js an idea other platforms should consider copying.Skeptics point out that WhatsApp can afford to hinder the spread of information on its platform because it does not rely on the sale of adverrisements to make money.Slowing down sharing would be more damaging to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter,which make money by keeping users on their sites and showing them ads.Their shareholders would surely refuse anything that lessens engagement.Sure enough,Facebook's shares fell by 23%in after-hours trading,partly because Mark Zuckerberg,its boss,said that its priority would be to get users to interact more with each other,not to promote viral content.Yet the short-term pain caused by a decline in virality may be in the long-term interests of the social networks.Fake news and concerns about cligital addiction,among other things,have already damaged the reputations of tech platforms.Moves to slow sharing could lielp see off harsh action by regulators and lawmakers.They could also improve its service.Instagram,a photo-sharing social network also owned by Facebook,shows that you can be successful without resorting to virality.It offers no sharing options and does not allow links but boasts more than a billion monthly users.It has remained relatively free of misinformation.Facebook does not break out Instagram's revenues,but it is thought to make money.The need to constrain virality is becoming ever more urgent.About half the world uses the internet today.The next 3.8bn users to go online will be poorer and less familiar with media.The examples of deceptions,misinformation and violence in India suggest that the capacity to manipulate people online is even greater when they first gain access to cligital communications.Small changes can have big effects:social networks have become expert at making their services compulsive by adjusting shades of blue and the size of buttons.They have the knowledge and the tools to maximise the sharing of information.That gives them the power to limit its virality,too. The author suggests social networks should

　　A limit the sharing of information.

　　B publicize the knowledge about virality.

　　C avoid making further small changes.

　　D get more control over new netizens.

　　正确答案：A  

　　答案解析：作者在第四段②句针对WhatsApp举措质疑者的看法亮明“病毒式传播下降有利于社交网络长远利益”的观点并佐证;第六段①句直言抑制病毒式传播在当前愈发迫切。由此可知，作者认为社交网站应该限制病毒式传播，即信息分享.A.正确。[解题技巧]B.源于末段②句the knowledge.…to maximise the sharing of information.但文中并未涉及对病毒式传播相关知识的“公开”。C.源于末段①句small changes can have big effects.本句虽指社交网络通过微小的改变令人上瘾，但是结合②③句“他们同时具备促进/限制病毒式传播的能力”，以及上文对WhatsApp微小改变(限制转发人数)的赞赏，可知作者认为社交网站能够、也应该通过微小的改变限制病毒式传播。D.曲解第六段③④句对新网民的描述，原文意借“新网民更易受虚假信息影响”凸显限制病毒式传播的必要，亦即社交网站需要限制病毒式传播.而非限制新网民。

　　2、The European Commission's proposed tax on digital services is intended to make companies such as Google and Uber pay more.The idea is that such firms are gaming the rules at the expense of other taxpayers.The issue is real and needs to be addressed-but the answer under discussion breaks with both established international practice and plain common sense.Formal talks on the plan are due to start this week.The commission is calling for a 3 percent tax on the turnover of large digital enterprises-those with EU digital revenues over 50 million euros and total global revenues of over 750 million euros.About half the companies affected would be American,the EU estimates.The commission says it has been left with little choice.The value generated by digital companies doesn't require a physical presence,making them harder to rax.Digital businesses arrange their affairs to exploit this:They allocate income to low-tax jurisdictions and,according to officials,end up paying an effective tax of roughly 10 percent of profits,less than half of the burden carried by traditional businesses.Officials acknowledge that the right solution is a thorough overhaul of the corporate tax code,especially as it affects international firms selling digital services-and that this should be done not unilaterally but in cooperation with other countries,notably the U.S.Efforts are in fact underway,but progress has been slow,and EU officials have chosen to do something,anything,as soon as possible.Doing nothing would be better than this.For a start,the plan wouldn't raise much revenue-a meager 5 billion euros each year.And this supposedly fairer tax would bring abnormal results.For instance,companies such as Uber that don't make money will have a new cost to absorb;highly profitable firms with market power,such as Facebook,will be able to pass the tax on to their consumers.Small startups will be exempt from the new tax-unless they're acquired by larger companies.That will discourage consolidations.And the proposal as it stands may tax more activities than intended:Some financial services,for example,seem to be within its scope In its zeal to tax digital enterprises,the commission departs from many of its own stated principles.Its plan would probably require accessing individual,not just anonymized,user data.This runs counter to the EU's strict new rules on privacy,coming into force next month.Efforts to design a multinational solution need to be stepped up,not set aside.The goal should be a fair,multilateral framework that recognizes the complexity of the new digital economy while respecting the sovereignty of nations to set their own tax policy.That's an international challenge demanding an international solution. The author believes ihat the commission's tax plan would

　　A ultimately harm consumers

　　B benefit some financial services

　　C help curb monopoly power

　　D force privacy rules to be modified.

　　正确答案：A  

　　答案解析：第五、六段明确欧洲数字税计划的后果(the plan wouldn't.…Its plan would.…)。第五段先指出数字税计划不仅不会增加多少税收，还会引发很多异常现象，随后举例说明异常现象(For Jnstance).其中之一为④句“高盈利公司会把税费转嫁给消费者”;第六段②句“可能需要获取个人的非匿名数据”暗示数字税计划可能会“侵犯个人(消费者)隐私”，综上判断A.正确。[解题技巧]B.与第五段⑦句“数字税可能会波及一些计划外的活动，如一些金融服务(会损害一些金融服务的利益)”相悖。C.与第五段④句“脸谱网等高盈利公司会转嫁其税收负担(不会受到太大影响)”相悖。D.将第六段“欧盟的数字税计划背离其隐私新规(行为前后矛盾)”篡改为“隐私新规将被修改、以契合数字税计划”。

　　3、Priests,teachers and parents have for generations advised their wards io think twice before speaking,to count to ten when angry and to get a good night's sleep before making big decisions.Social networks care little for seconcl thoughts.Services such as Facebook and Twitter are built to maximise"virality",making it irresistible to share,like and retweet things.They are getting better at it:fully half of the 40 most-retweeted tweets clate from January last year.Starting this month,however,users of WhatsApp,a messaging service owned by Facebook,will find it harder to spread content.They will no longer be able to forward messages to more than 20 0thers in one go,down from more than 100.The goal is not to prevent people from sharing information-only to get users to think about what they are passing on.It Js an idea other platforms should consider copying.Skeptics point out that WhatsApp can afford to hinder the spread of information on its platform because it does not rely on the sale of adverrisements to make money.Slowing down sharing would be more damaging to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter,which make money by keeping users on their sites and showing them ads.Their shareholders would surely refuse anything that lessens engagement.Sure enough,Facebook's shares fell by 23%in after-hours trading,partly because Mark Zuckerberg,its boss,said that its priority would be to get users to interact more with each other,not to promote viral content.Yet the short-term pain caused by a decline in virality may be in the long-term interests of the social networks.Fake news and concerns about cligital addiction,among other things,have already damaged the reputations of tech platforms.Moves to slow sharing could lielp see off harsh action by regulators and lawmakers.They could also improve its service.Instagram,a photo-sharing social network also owned by Facebook,shows that you can be successful without resorting to virality.It offers no sharing options and does not allow links but boasts more than a billion monthly users.It has remained relatively free of misinformation.Facebook does not break out Instagram's revenues,but it is thought to make money.The need to constrain virality is becoming ever more urgent.About half the world uses the internet today.The next 3.8bn users to go online will be poorer and less familiar with media.The examples of deceptions,misinformation and violence in India suggest that the capacity to manipulate people online is even greater when they first gain access to cligital communications.Small changes can have big effects:social networks have become expert at making their services compulsive by adjusting shades of blue and the size of buttons.They have the knowledge and the tools to maximise the sharing of information.That gives them the power to limit its virality,too. The advice of priests,teachers and parents is brought up to

　　A stress the necessity for social networks to circulate them.

　　B highlight the sharing without thinking on social networks.

　　C warn people against the danger of indulging in virtual life.

　　D urge social networks to build services more cautiously.

　　正确答案：B  

　　答案解析：文首句首先引出神父等人提出的“三思后行”忠告;②③句随后指出社交网站对这一忠告的站位：不喜欢，反而鼓励病毒式传播(即，不假思索分享行为)。可见文章是借神父等“三思后行”的忠告凸显社交网站”不鼓励三思后行、反而鼓励大家分享、转发信息”，B.正确。[解题技巧]A.着眼于忠告本身，并由此捏造出“社交网站应该传播‘三思后行”’，但文意重点在于“社交网站上的传播方式(病毒式传播)”，而非“社交网站的传播内容”。C.利用常识“沉迷于网络有害”干扰.但与文意重点“社交网站病毒式传播”以及引子“三思后行”均无关联。D.源于对Services.…are built to.…与”三思后行”的含义“谨慎行事”的捏合，但文意重在质疑“社交网站开发服务的目的：最大化病毒式传播”而非“社交网站开发服务的方式”。

　　4、The European Commission's proposed tax on digital services is intended to make companies such as Google and Uber pay more.The idea is that such firms are gaming the rules at the expense of other taxpayers.The issue is real and needs to be addressed-but the answer under discussion breaks with both established international practice and plain common sense.Formal talks on the plan are due to start this week.The commission is calling for a 3 percent tax on the turnover of large digital enterprises-those with EU digital revenues over 50 million euros and total global revenues of over 750 million euros.About half the companies affected would be American,the EU estimates.The commission says it has been left with little choice.The value generated by digital companies doesn't require a physical presence,making them harder to rax.Digital businesses arrange their affairs to exploit this:They allocate income to low-tax jurisdictions and,according to officials,end up paying an effective tax of roughly 10 percent of profits,less than half of the burden carried by traditional businesses.Officials acknowledge that the right solution is a thorough overhaul of the corporate tax code,especially as it affects international firms selling digital services-and that this should be done not unilaterally but in cooperation with other countries,notably the U.S.Efforts are in fact underway,but progress has been slow,and EU officials have chosen to do something,anything,as soon as possible.Doing nothing would be better than this.For a start,the plan wouldn't raise much revenue-a meager 5 billion euros each year.And this supposedly fairer tax would bring abnormal results.For instance,companies such as Uber that don't make money will have a new cost to absorb;highly profitable firms with market power,such as Facebook,will be able to pass the tax on to their consumers.Small startups will be exempt from the new tax-unless they're acquired by larger companies.That will discourage consolidations.And the proposal as it stands may tax more activities than intended:Some financial services,for example,seem to be within its scope In its zeal to tax digital enterprises,the commission departs from many of its own stated principles.Its plan would probably require accessing individual,not just anonymized,user data.This runs counter to the EU's strict new rules on privacy,coming into force next month.Efforts to design a multinational solution need to be stepped up,not set aside.The goal should be a fair,multilateral framework that recognizes the complexity of the new digital economy while respecting the sovereignty of nations to set their own tax policy.That's an international challenge demanding an international solution. What is the ultimate goal that digital tax legislation should pursue?

　　A Efficient unilateral solution.s.

　　B Simplified corporate tax systems

　　C A global cooperative approach

　　D An anti-tax avoidance package

　　正确答案：C  

　　答案解析：第七段先指出“欧盟应加紧努力设计多国解决方案，而非独自行动”，随后明确“立法最终目标应是公平的多边体系(a multilateral framework)”，最后再次强调“‘对数字经济征税，是国际性挑战，需要国际性的解决方案(a multinational/international solution)”，C.契合题意。[解题技巧]A.将第七段②句“多边体系亦应尊重各国立法主权(各国可变通地在多边体系下立法)”曲解为“采用单边解决方案”。B.将第七段②句complexity所修饰主体“数字经济”偷换为“公司税制”，并由此臆断出“应简化公司税制”。D.由第三段“数字公司通过转移无形资产避税”推断而来，但选项遗漏文章观点“欧盟的区域性解决方案不可行，数字税立法需全球通力合作”。

　　5、We're bringing health care to"where people live and work."So declared Larry Merlo,CEO of CVS Health,an American retail-pharmacy giant,announcing a69billiondealtobuyAetna,aheatthinsurer.Onerationaleforthedeal−assumingtheregulatorswaveitthrough−isforthemergedfirmtodeveloppersonalisedhealthcarethatpeoplecaneasilygetaccessto.　　Thereisanother,moredefensive,impetusbehindthedeal−theprospectofAmazongoingintoprescriptionmedicine.TheAmericanpharmaceuticalmarketisanalluringonefortheonlinegiant.Itislarge,worth450 billion in 2016.And it is widely regarded as inefficient,leaving customers without good information about products they are buying.Compared with books,toys and other bulky items,the drugs market would appear to be a nirvana for Amazon.Prescription medicines weigh almost nothing,take up little space and can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per pill.But three barriers block the road to this idyll.First,the sale and distribution of drugs is heavily regulated.Amazon would not be able to dump prescription drugs into the same fulfilment channels as its other products.It must acquire pharmaceutical licences for any state where it wishes to operate.Amazon would also need approval from the Food and Drug Administration at a federal level.Operating in a controlled industry would be a departure for a free-wheeling tech firm.Second,most drugs are paid for by insurers,not by consumers.The pharmacy-benefits managers(PBMs),a sort of middlemen that buy drugs for insurers and companies,perform the complex task of matching purchases with patients'insurers,so that drugs are paid for.That is a source of the sort of opacity that Amazon would seek to remove.But the rcommerce firm would still need to handle issues of payment in the background,without keeping asking consumers for insurance details.Third,although drugs do come in small packages,their shipping and handling often require special attention.Many drugs must be kept cold throughout the supply chain.Others are dangerous,and must be kept in locked cages.Yet these drugs are often also the most expensive.If Amazon cherry-picks drugs that fit well into its existing network,it will miss out on a large slice of the market.Customers could find it confusing to be able to get some prescriptions through Amazon's store but not others.Amazon could find itself a partner,however.In July the boss of Express Scripts,a PBM,said it could use Amazon as an"efficient provider in networks".Or Amazon could buy what it needs.It might buy Rite Aid,a big pharmacy chain,giving it licences,a"cold-chain"infrastructure and Rite Aid's small PBM in one swoop.A prospect like that goes a long way to explaining the marriage of CVS and Aetna. What prompted CVS to buy Aetna?

　　A lts eagerness to bring health care to all.

　　B Its desire to develop personalized medicine

　　C Its concern over a potential threat

　　D lts passion for prescription drug business

　　正确答案：C  

　　答案解析：第二段②句指出，CVS收购Aetna这一交易背后有一个自卫性的推动力量：网络巨头Amazon大有进入处方药市场的可能。稍作推理可知，二者合并在很大程度上是为了增强力量、对抗Amazon这一巨大竞争/威胁，C.正确。[排除干扰]A.利用开篇句干扰，但选项bring health care to all和原文bringing health care to“where people live ancl work”存在偏差，且这是“CVS宣称的合并前景”，并非题目所问“推动合并的原因”。B.偷换第二段首句所述合并原因，将“开发个性化医疗保健(develop personalised health care)”改为“研发个性化药品(develop personalized medicine)”。D.将第二段②句所述合并原因“Amazon意欲进入处方药市场”改为“二者合并意在进军处方药市场”。

　　☛☛☛进入2022年研究生考试练习题库>>>更多考研试题(每日一练、模拟试卷、历年真题、易错题)等你来做!