Google must be the most ambitious company in the world. Its stated goal, "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," deliberately omits the word "web" to indicate that the company is reaching for absolutely all information everywhere and in every form. From books to health records and videos, from your friendships to your click patterns and physical location, Google wants to know. To some people this sounds uplifting, with promises of free access to knowledge and help in managing our daily lives. To others, it is somewhat like another Big Brother, no less frightening than its totalitarian(极权主义的)ancestors for being in the private information.
Randall Stross, a journalist at the New York Times, does a good job of analyzing this unbounded ambition in his book "Planet Google". One chapter is about the huge data centers that Google is building with a view to storing all that information, another about the sets of rules at the heart of its web search and advertising technology, another about its approach to information bound in books, its vision for geographical information and so forth. He is at his best when explaining how Google's mission casually but fatally smashes into long-existing institutions such as, say, copyright law or privacy norms.
And yet, it's puzzling that he mostly omits the most fascinating component of Google, its people. Google is what it is because of its two founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who see themselves as kindly elites and embody the limitless optimism about science, technology and human nature that is native to Silicon Valley. The world is perfectible, and they are the ones who will do much of the perfecting, provided you let them.
Brin and Page set out to create a company and an entire culture in their image. From the start, they professed that they would innovate as much in managing-rewarding, feeding, motivating, entertaining and even transporting(via Wi-Fi-enabled free shuttle buses)their employees—as they do in Internet technology. In reality, Google's as prone to power struggle and office politics as anyone else.
None of that makes it into Mr. Stross' account, which at times reads like a diligent summary of news articles. At those moments, "Planet Google" takes a risk similar to trying to board a speeding train: the Google story changes so fast that no book can stay up to date for long. Even so, a sober description of this moment in Google's quest is welcome. Especially since Google fully expects, as its chief executive, Eric Schmidt, says at the end of the book, to take 300 years completing it.
1. By describing Google as a "Big Brother", people think that Google .A.is a pioneer in IT industry | B.is an invader of privacy |
C.breaks its promise of free access | D.overestimates its own influence |
A.They compete against each other in the office. |
B.They are hard-working and talented. |
C.They appreciate the managing techniques. |
D.They feel encouraged by the company's benefits. |
A.Planet Google will be in danger if it stays up to date for long. |
B.Planet Google has to take 300 years to catch the speeding train. |
C.A written book can only cover a little part of the on-going technology. |
D.The board of Google welcomes Randall Stross to cover Google story. |
A.Planet Google, a detailed description of Google's ambition |
B.Google, a company with promises of free access to knowledge |
C.Google, another big brother playing a political game |
D.Planet Google, a half story of the real Google |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci ... the art world has never lacked talent. And now, a new painter is ready to join the list, although this one isn’t even human.
Next month, auction house(拍卖行) Christie’s Prints and Multiples will make history by offering the first piece of art created by artificial intelligence for sale. The painting is a portrait of a man called Edmond De Belamy, and is expected to be sold for up to $10,000 (69,000 yuan).
The work, which features a man with a mysterious look on his face, was created by software developed by the French art group Obvious. Laugero-Lasserre, an art collector from France, called the work “ridiculous and amazing at the same time”. This isn’t the first example of AI-produced artwork, as AI has already been used to write poems and compose songs. However, many people doubt whether it should be called art at all.
According to Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, art is about creating emotion. It’s “a means of … joining people together in the same feelings”, he once said.
So, if the emotion behind art is what makes the art, the ability to create and use tools is what makes human beings different from other species. And as a tool itself, the AI technology used to create the portrait is the result of a lot of effort made by several designers. Together, they “fed” the AI a huge collection of paintings from the 14th to the 18th centuries, until it was able to work out how to make similar paintings of its own.
The introduction of AI art could be the beginning of a new artistic movement. However, not everyone is ready to welcome these high-tech artists just yet.
1. Why are Monet, Picasso and da Vinci mentioned at the beginning of the passage?A.To list world famous talented artists. | B.To introduce a new painter as great as them. |
C.To show the prosperity of the art world. | D.To highlight the inhuman painter by contrast. |
A.It’s the first AI-produced artwork for sale. |
B.It’ll be auctioned in a famous auction house. |
C.It’s the portrait of a man with mysterious look. |
D.Its auction price is expected to be the highest. |
A.AI technology is a tool for artistic creation. |
B.AI is taught to express human emotions in art. |
C.AI copied paintings of the14th-18th centuries. |
D.AI art joins people together in the same feelings. |
A.Popular. | B.Unclear. | C.Predictable. | D.Unacceptable. |
【推荐2】The last time you heard about cloning, you were probably in science class. Some scientists are starting to take this process from the research lab to the marketplace.
“When people ask me what I do, I smile and say ‘Well, you’re not going to believe this,’” Melain Rodriguez, a client (客户) service manager for ViaGen Pets, said. ViaGen Pets clones cats, dogs and horses, turning man’s best friend into a best friend forever.
At first, ViaGen just cloned livestock (家畜) for business purposes. They expanded to ViaGen Pets after the farmers started asking if they could get copies of their family pets too.
“Unfortunately our pets’ lives are so short compared to ours, and I think that’s a big reason why people want to do this. They want to extend (延长) that bond with their pets.”
Cloned pets may sound like something out of a sci-fi novel, but you might have passed one on the street without knowing it. Rodriguez says the best way to understand the relationship between an animal and its clone is to look at them as identical(相同的) twins. “We’re finding that the pets have very similar personalities and look very much like the original. The markings can be slightly different, so it’s kind of like human twins that have freckles (雀斑) and their freckles are never going to be in the same place.”
The company clones dozens of pets each year, and Rodriguez believes the industry will continue growing. “Pets are more and more part of the family. I would do anything for my pets and most people feel the same way.”
If you want a copy of your favorite four-legged friend, you’ll have to pay some serious cash. Cloning a horse costs $85,000, or you can clone a dog for $50,000 and a cat for $35,000.
1. What can be learned about Rodriguez?A.She works for ViaGen Pets. | B.She is a science teacher. |
C.She is fed up with her job. | D.She seldom tells others about her job. |
A.Keeping a pet. | B.Doing animal research. |
C.Having their pets cloned. | D.Cloning livestock for business purposes. |
A.To suggest that human twins are alike. |
B.To state that twins may have different personalities. |
C.To explain why cloned animals can hardly be recognized. |
D.To show that an animal and its clone are not completely identical. |
A.It is promising. | B.It should be improved. |
C.It should cut its costs. | D.It has received many doubts. |
【推荐3】Why texting harms your IQ
The regular use of text messages and e-mails can lower the IQ more than twice as much as smoking marijuana (大麻). That is the statement of researchers who have found that tapping away on a mobile phone or computer keypad or checking for electronic messages temporarily knocks up to 10 points off the user’s IQ. This rate of decline in intelligence compares unfavorably with the four-point drop in IQ associated with smoking marijuana, according to British researchers, who have described the phenomenon of improved stupidity as “infomania”. The research conducted by Hewlett Packard, the technology company, has concluded that it is mainly a problem for adult workers, especially men.
It is concluded that too much use of modern technology can damage a person’s mind. It can cause a constant distraction of “always on” technology when employees should be concentrating on what they are paid to do. Infomania means that they lose concentration as their minds remain fixed in an almost permanent state of readiness to react to technology instead of focusing on the task in hand. The report also added that, in a long term, the brain will be considerably shaped by what we do to it and by the experience of daily life. At a microcellular level, the complex networks of nerve cells that make up parts of the brain actually change in response to certain experiences.
Too much use of modern technology can be damaging not only to a person’s mind, but to their social relationship. 1100 adults were interviewed during the research. More than 62 per cent of them admitted that they were addicted to checking their e-mails and text messages so often that they scrutinized work-related ones even when at home or on holiday. Half said that they always responded immediately to an email and will even interrupt a meeting to do so. It is concluded that infomania is increasing stress and anxiety and affecting one’s characteristics. Nine out of ten thought that colleagues who answered e-mails or messages during a face-to-face meeting were extremely rude.
The effects on IQ were studied by Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychologist at University of London. “This is a very real and widespread phenomenon,” he said. “We have found that infomania will damage a worker’s performance by reducing their mental sharpness and changing their social life. Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.”
1. We can learn from the passage that “infomania” ______.A.has a positive influence on one’s IQ |
B.results in the change of part of the brain |
C.lies in the problem of lack of concentration |
D.is caused by too much use of modern technology |
A.the important function of advanced technology |
B.the damage to one’s brain done by unhealthy habits |
C.the relevance between IQ and use of modern technology |
D.the relationship between intelligence and working effectiveness |
A.examined carefully | B.copied patiently |
C.corrected quickly | D.admitted freely |
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
A. | B. |
C. | D. |
【推荐1】As I started to be recognized as a promising student, around eighth grade, I was told by someone,“You're smart and you're from the hood. Colleges will love you.”Why did he say that? I always looked at being from the hood as a bad thing.
In my life, I've had a lot of unfortunate experiences. So when it came time for me to write my personal statement for college applications, I knew that I could sell a story about all the struggles I had overcome. Each draft (草稿) I wrote had a different topic. The first was about growing up without my dad being involved, the second was about the many times my life was threatened, and the third was about dealing with anxiety. Every time I wrote, and then gave up and then redrafted, I didn't feel good. It felt as if I were trying to gain pity.
Conflicted, I spoke to my teacher Nathaniel Sinckler. When he was applying to Morehouse College, he“felt pressured to write about something he could oversell.”“I knew enough to write about hardships I had faced,”he said, “but although I didn't have enough, I didn't go without.”This made him feel that he was at a disadvantage because he was competing with kids on the same academic level who had faced even more hardships. He explained that the focus becomes no longer who you are as a person but rather if you've been challenged enough. Mr. Sinckler asked me to question what actually makes up my identity, because while struggles are important, they're not the only contributions to it.
Pain is one of life's teachers. We are molded (塑造) by it, and some will choose to write about it urgently and passionately. Yet I would encourage those who feel like their stories were written in tragedy (悲剧) to rethink that, as I did. When you open your mind to all the other things you've offered in life, it becomes liberating (令人感到解脱的). Let's show college admissions officers what they're missing out on, not what they already know.
1. What did the author think of the comment about him in paragraph 1?A.Amusing. | B.Convincing. |
C.Encouraging. | D.Confusing. |
A.He couldn't find his first draft. |
B.He was constantly interrupted by his dad. |
C.He couldn't explain his pain satisfactorily. |
D.He had to balance different aspects of his life. |
A.Take pity on other kids. |
B.Present his all-round identity. |
C.Go without mentioning challenges. |
D.Improve his academic performance. |
A.To ask for advice. |
B.To make a suggestion. |
C.To show appreciation. |
D.To make an assumption |
【推荐2】Recently, as the British doctor Robert Winston took a train from London to Manchester, he found himself becoming steadily angry. A woman had picked up her phone and begun a loud conversation, which would last an unbelievable hour. Furious, Winston began to tweet about the woman. He took her picture and sent it to his more than 40,000 followers.
When the train arrived at its destination, Winston rushed out. He’d had enough of the woman’s rudeness. But the press were now waiting for her on the platform. And when they showed her Winston’s messages, she used just one word to describe Winston’s actions: rude.
Winston’s tale is something of a microcosm(缩影) of our age of increasing rudeness, fueled by social media. What can we do to fix this?
Studies have shown that rudeness spreads quickly, almost like the common cold. Just witnessing rudeness makes it far more likely that we, in turn, will be rude later on. The only way to avoid it is to deal with it face to face. We must say, “Just stop.” For Winston, that would have meant approaching the woman, telling her that her conversation was frustrating other passengers and politely asking her to speak more quietly or make the call at another time.
The rage and injustice we feel at the rude behavior of a stranger can drive us to do odd things. In my own research, surveying 2,000 adults, I discovered that the acts of revenge people had taken ranged from the ridiculous to the disturbing. Winston did shine a spotlight on the woman’s behavior — but from afar, in a way that shamed her.
We must instead combat rudeness head on. When we see it occur in a store, we must step up and say something. If it happens to a colleague, we must point it out. We must defend strangers in the same way we’d defend our best friends. But we can do it with grace, by handling it without a trace of aggression and without being rude ourselves. Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end that strain themselves. As this tide of rudeness rises, civilization needs civility.
1. What can you learn about Robert Winston from the passage?A.He knows how to speak to rude people. |
B.He behaved improperly and spoke loudly on the train. |
C.He lost his temper due to other people’s rudeness. |
D.He reacted to a woman’s rude behavior wrongly. |
A.Rude behavior is common on social media. |
B.Rudeness can be avoided through social media. |
C.People can easily get away through social media. |
D.Social media may spread and cause rudeness. |
A.Record them and post it on the Internet. |
B.Point it out in a polite and skillful way. |
C.Do nothing but wait for other people to fix it. |
D.Pay them back by doing equally disturbing things. |
A.We can only point out rudeness from familiar people. |
B.Rudeness and manners can hardly coexist in civilized society. |
C.Both strangers and acquaintances deserve our friendly warning. |
D.Rude people can’t see their rudeness through others’ eyes. |
【推荐3】I looked at my beautiful Christmas tree and sighed.It was time.The New Year was a week old and my tree still stood in the corner of our room with its collection of memories proudly displayed in a shower of colorful lights.I’d procrastinated long enough.
I got up, went to the garage and dragged all the boxes into the room.The garland (花环) was the first to come down.The tree looked naked (光秃秃的) already.I took the large ornaments off next.They made a large pile on our bed.An hour later, our bed was covered with Christmas memories.Each pile contained an ornament along with its matching brothers and sisters from sets purchased many years ago.
I prepared the boxes and carefully placed ornaments in their protective packaging, pausing every few minutes to admire a favorite.“Hey, little Santa!” I held the Santa from my childhood.“Thanks for being my friend for almost 50 years.” He was a little ragged (衣着破烂的) but still gives me a flood of wonderful memories.“Until next year, my dear friend.”
There was a collection of handmade ones.My children made in their first years of school, more than 20 years ago.Made by tiny hands, they are far from perfect in design, but every year they go on my memory tree – memories of young giggles on Christmas morning and a smiling face when they handed them to me when I came home from work.“Look what we made, Daddy!”
“Oh! It is beautiful.Let’s find a special spot on the tree for it.” Every year since, they are displayed.
A few hours after I started, the filled boxes were back in the garage, the room was vacuumed (用吸尘器清扫) and I sat staring at a barren (空荡荡的) corner.The room seemed so empty.It took me two days of work to assemble (收集) and decorate my tree, but only a few hours to take it apart.
My tree is a good marriage or a great friendship.Like the tree, they take a long time to assemble and decorate with memories, but can be torn down quickly.
Every year I have to put my tree away, but not my marriage or friendships.I take great care of those.They get to glow in the corner of my life for as long as I live.I get to analyze my tree and find memories for a few weeks every year.I can do the same with the loves in my life every day.Take great care of your friendships and your marriage.Once they come down, they aren’t as easy to put back together as a Christmas tree.Stand them in that special spot in the corner of your heart and admire their glow.
1. In the author’s eyes, the Christmas tree _____.A.is a collection of childhood memories | B.is a symbol of long-lasting relations |
C.takes too much time to decorate | D.is full of out-of-date ornaments |
A.reflected | B.celebrated |
C.decorated | D.delayed |
A.both take time to build but fall apart easily |
B.both remind him of bittersweet memories |
C.both need to be admired for some time |
D.both get less attractive over the years |
A.We’d better put away Christmas decorations and recycle them each year. |
B.Friendships and marriages should be valued and managed carefully. |
C.Memories with friends and family should be cherished and relived. |
D.We should decorate Christmas trees with personal stuff and recycle. |