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The economy may be troubled, but one area is thriving: social media.
来源 :焚题库 2021-05-21
中There can be little doubt that these companies enrich their founders as well as some investors. But do they add anything to overall economic activity? While jobs in social media are growing fast, there were only about 21,000 listings last spring, a tiny fraction of the 150 million-member U.S. workforce. So do social-media tools enhance productivity or help us bridge the wealth divide? Or are they simply entertaining socially, and diverting us when it comes to national economic health?
The answers are vital, because billions of dollars in investment capital are being spent on these ventures, and if we are to have a productive future economy, that capital needs to grow the economic pie and not just among the elite of Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
The problem is that these tools are so new that it is extremely difficult to answer the questions definitively. Flash back nearly 20 years and the same question was being asked about the first Internet wave. Were Netscape and the Web enhancing our economy, or were people just spending more time at work checking out ESPN.com? Official statistics weren’t designed to capture the benefits, and didn’t capture them until statistics experts at the Federal Reserve, urged on by Alan Greenspan, refined the way they measured productivity.As a result of these somewhat controversial innovations, the late 1990s became a period of substantial technology-driven gains.
It is possible that the same gap exists today, that social-media tools are indeed laying the groundwork for new industries and jobs, but aren’t yet registering on the statistical radar.Many companies believe social media make them more competitive. Ford and Zappos, for instance,use Twitter to market their products and address consumer complaints.
One big question is what proportion of that benefit will be captured economically by consumers vs. corporations. Sure, social media allow people to compare prices and quality and assess which companies are good to work for and where jobs might be. They also may enhance education and idea sharing, but the caveat is that the people who use these tools are the ones with higher education and income to spend on technology, not the tens of millions whose position in today’s world has eroded so sharply. According to a recent Pew Foundation study, only 45 percent of adults making less than US$30,000 have access to broadband,which is an essential component of using content-rich social media effectively.
And that is the rub. Like so many things these days, social media contribute to economic bifurcation. Dynamic companies are benefiting from these tools,even if the gains are tough to nail down in specific figures. Many individuals are benefiting too, using Linkedln to find jobs and Groupon to find deals. But now, the irony is that social media widen the social divide, making it even harder for the have-nots to navigate. They allow those with jobs to do them more effectively and companies that are profiting to profit more. But so far, they have done little to aid those who are being left behind. They are, in short, business as usual.
单选题第1题Which of the following statements about social-media companies is NOT true?
A.Most of them are private.
B.Their value is increasing fast.
C.They are receiving huge sums of investment.
D.They contribute greatly to the labor market.
参考答案：D
答案解析：推断题。第1段第3句提到这些公司大多是私营,引起了华尔街和投资者的热情关注,可以排除A和C。第2段第1句说到这些公司让他们的创始人和一些投资者收获颇丰,结合第1段最后一句用Facebook和Groupon的例子,可以推断他们的价值快 速增长,所以排除B。第2段第3句用数据说明社交媒体为劳动市场提供的职位仅占全美劳工总数的一小部分,由此可以判断D的表述不正确,故选D。
单选题第2题It is critical to know social media5s contribution to national economic health in that___.
A.it makes Silicon Valley more competitive
B.investors from the Wall Street need to know it
C.it is crucial for the future economy of the U.S.
D.it guarantees the benefits of social-media founders
参考答案：C
答案解析：推断题。本题需注意段落上下文的语篇衔接。第3段提到,因为数十亿美元的投资流向社交媒体,如果希望未来经济兴盛繁荣,就需要利用资本,增长经济整体实力,因此社交媒体对国家的经济健康发展的贡献,在于它对未来经济发展非常重要。故选C。
单选题第3题It is difficult to clarify social media's contribution to national economic health because___.
A.investment returns are uncertain
B.the industry is new
C.it is not environmentally friendly
D.it is Internet-driven
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。第4段第1句紧接上文提出“难以明确社交媒体对国家经济健康做出的贡献主要原因是这些工具（即社交媒体）太新” 。故选B。
单选题第4题The phrase “the same gap” underlined in Paragraph 5 refers to___.
A.the existence of social media and the registration of statistical radar
B.the establishment of new companies and the measurement of productivity
C.substantial economic gains and the development of new technologies
D.economic benefits from social media and lack of official statistics
参考答案：D
答案解析：语义题。第5段承接第4段话题,即互联网为促进经济做出了贡献,但在最初缺乏对收益数据的统计,因此这种信息缺失让人无法肯定互联网的贡献。而这个问题在社交媒体领域也存在。故应选D。
单选题第5题Ford and Zappos are cited as examples to show that___.
A.Twitter is the best social-media tool for companies
B.social media have changed the way the younger generations communicate
C.companies can get economic benefits by using social-media tools
D.big companies are playing a leading role in using social-media tools
参考答案：C
答案解析：推断题。第5段第2句说到“许多公司认为社交媒体增强了他们的竞争力” ,第3句以福特和Zappos为例,说明他们使用Twitter推销产品并解决消费者投诉。由此可以看出公司可以通过社交媒体获得经济利益。故选C。
单选题第6题Who are most unlikely to benefit from social media?
A.The unemployed.
B.Wall Street investors.
C.Profitable companies.
D.The well-educated.
参考答案：A
答案解析：推断题。文中提到的三种难以从社交媒体获益的人是whose position in today’s world has eroded so sharply, the have-nots, those who are being left behind,因此可推出失业者从社交媒体获益的可能性最小,故选A。
单选题第7题The advantage of social media is that it helps____.
A.people get career opportunities and incomes
B.consumers buy their own goods
C.people consciously manage information about their self-image
D.social-media platforms improve students’ education
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。第6段讲社交媒体的好处,从第2句可知,人们可以利用社交媒体比较商品的价格和质量,即可根据自己的判断决定购买哪种商品,故选B。注意A容易误选,因为第2句后半部分提到“可以判断哪家公司更适合工作,在哪儿可以找到工作” ,但未提到收入的问题。故A不正确。
单选题第8题What is the author’s attitude toward social media’s contribution to national economic health?
A.Indifferent.
B.Doubtful.
C.Positive.
D.Neutral.
参考答案：B
答案解析：态度题。从文章最后两段的表述可以看出作者认为社交媒体扩大了社会鸿沟,使富人更富,穷人却很难得到益处,因此态度是否定的、负面的。故选B。
单选题第9题It can be inferred from the passage that___.
A.social media help create services that turn into jobs, growth, and prosperity
B.many corporations make it possible for employees to communicate across divisions and regions
C.social media are viewed as today’s version of the telephone
D.social media do only marginal good to national economic health
参考答案：D
答案解析：推断题。结合上下文,社交媒体加剧了贫富差距,提供的就业机会也只占全美劳工的一小部分,可见社交媒体对国民经济健康的作用微乎其微,故选D。
单选题第10题Which of the following titles is proper for the passage?
A.Can Social Media Help the Economy?
B.Do Social Media Benefit Most Big Companies?
C.Do Social Media Tools Influence Cultural Values?
D.Who Could Become the Next Twitter?
参考答案：A
答案解析：主旨题。全文首先提出社交媒体在经济动荡的时期蓬勃发展起来,虽然收益颇丰但对经济整体的贡献不够明显,随后解释了原因,最终指出受益人群以及社交媒体带来的问题。可见本文是围绕社交媒体对经济发展的作用展开的。故选A。
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2020翻译二级笔译综合能力考试大纲
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