1 . My generation — people born after 1990 — are accustomed to “all-in-platform” life, where we use mobile apps of different platforms to do almost everything in life.
For instance, I ordered a cup of coffee on Monday using an online delivery app. Then, I called a taxi by tapping on the app of a ride-booking service. Next, I bought some necessities on shopping platform Taobao. That done, I moved on to various other online destinations to get my daily fix of music, reading, social networking and so forth.
Platforms now play an increasingly important role in almost all aspects of day-to-day life, not just in economic and political processes. Consumption and social interaction are closely linked to platforms now.
But, I began to get confused recently. I thought I was being treated differently. My friend and I called a taxi at the same time on a ride-hailing platform (打车平台) and found that for the same destination, the prices were different. The price indicated on my phone was higher. One of the potential reasons could have been that I regularly use the ride-hailing platform and have a higher ranking while my friend doesn’t use it that often. So, the ride-hailing platform offers discounts to newbies like her, to attract and have such customers.
China’s latest efforts in regulating monopolistic or improper market behavior are of great significance in protecting consumers’ lawful rights.
“The essence of platform-based monopoly (垄断) is that a large number of users are gathered on only a select few platform companies, leading to uneven data gathering different platforms. But in China some platforms use their own data and traffic (流量) to expand capital in a disorderly way,” said Wang Yong, deputy director of the Institute of Economics at Tinghua University.
Data monopoly also brought another inconvenience for comumers — platforms block links to each other. For instance, link to WeChat Pay of Tencent is not available on Alibuba’s Taobao while there is no Alipay link on JD app’s payment options.
Last year, Meituan was charged with preventing customers from using Alipay as a payment option on Meituan apps and platforms.
In July, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a six-month special rectification (专项治理) for the internet industry, asking platform operators to stop blocking each other’s link.
“More efforts should also be made to strike a good balance between personal information protection and interconnectivity between platforms Companies are being encouraged to further develop data encryption (加密) technology so that the data are available but not visible.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing Para.2?| A．To offer some tips on using apps on mobile phone. |
| B．To share his experience with mobile apps. |
| C．To further explain what is “all-in-platform” life. |
| D．To help readers familiarize themselves with mobile apps. |
| A．The author encountered so called “big data price discrimination”. |
| B．The author and his friend were treated differently by taxi drivers. |
| C．Due to the author's higher ranking, the platform offered him a cheaper price. |
| D．The ride-hailing platform offers discounts to regular customers. |
| A．to gather personal information |
| B．to expand capital |
| C．to protect consumers' rights |
| D．to use their data and traffic wisely |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Approving. |
| C．Critical. | D．Grateful. |
| A．Data monopolies and the inconvenience they bring to mobile app life. |
| B．Mobile apps have greatly changed our lives. |
| C．How to protect personal information on mobile apps. |
| D．Platforms have impacted every aspect of our daily lives. |
2 . Tens of thousands of drone (无人机)owners will have to register their devices for the first time under regulations designed to safeguard privacy.
Rules introduced yesterday require all drones that are fitted with cameras to be logged with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Anyone who fails to do so faces being taken to court and fined up to £1,000. Drones heavier than 250g already have to be registered with the CAA, which costs £9 and must be renewed annually, but the new measures extend this requirement to all devices, including the lightweight models that are used by hobbyist pilots.
The move comes after sharp rise in the number of drones bought by enthusiasts or those operating them for commercial reasons, such as to inspect infrastructure or for photography and filming.
However, the rise has prompted concerns over privacy, with fears that drones are being used to spy on private residences and other buildings. It has also led to an increase in the number of near-misses between drones and other aircraft, including commercial passenger jets. The latest figures show 531 near-misses involving drones were logged in the past decade, including 125 recorded in 2019.
By law drones are supposed to be operated within an operator's line of sight. They have to remain below an altitude of 400ft to avoid interfering with aircraft and flown at least 164ft away from people and buildings. The government has already toughened up regulations in recent years. This includes requiring all operators to pass an online test before being allowed to fly devices. Other changes to the regulations include allowing drones that weigh up to 25kg to be operated, compared with a previous limit of 20kg.
Devices will also fall into three new categories of risk --high, medium and low -- depending on how they will be flown. Low-risk drones, including those typically used by hobbyists, will have operational limitations but will not need authorisation （授权）for flights. Authorisation is needed for larger medium-risk and high-risk drone flights, which are typically carried out in more complex environments, including those beyond the operator's line of sight, which is banned under normal circumstances.
Christian Struwe, the director of public policy, said of the new regulation: "It simplifies different processes and allows customers to travel from country to country without having to worry about different rules in different foreign locations.”
1. Why must the drone owners register their devices?| A．To protect their rights of flying drones. |
| B．To avoid breaking the new regulations. |
| C．To follow the rules not to invade others’ privacy. |
| D．To make sure their drones meet the weight requirement. |
| A．Updated every day. |
| B．Registered every year. |
| C．Redesigned every year. |
| D．Replaced every month. |
| A．Drones will be used for commercial purposes. |
| B．It is impossible to avoid being spied by drones. |
| C．Operating drones requires higher qualification. |
| D．Drones probably crash into passenger planes while in use. |
| A．Ways of operating drones. |
| B．The requirements on drones. |
| C．Online test on drone operators. |
| D．Methods of making standard drones. |
| A．How to make a standard drone. |
| B．How drones are operated by enthusiasts. |
| C．The negative effect of drones on people. |
| D．The importance of registering the drones. |
3 . We talk a lot about air pollution. Here in Hong Kong we always complain about light pollution as well. Then, there is noise pollution. It's the same in many cities around the world. In Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, people have been complaining about/the noise made by drivers who continually sound their car horns(喇). That is until recently, when something was finally done about it.
The Chief District Officer of Kathmandu had received many complaints about horn pollution. He said that everyone felt the use of the car horn in recent years had become excessive. Researchers in Kathmandu found that for about 80 percent of the time, it really was not necessary for drivers to use their car horns. Sounding the horn to make a noise had become more of a habit. It was no longer being used as it was supposed to be used: to warn people of danger.
At the beginning of the Nepali New Year in 2017, the local government passed a law to ban the use of car horns unless used correctly.
Within six months, 11,000 fines(罚款) had been collected by the local traffic police. The e fine was about HK S360. A taxi driver in Kathmandu can make about HK S1, 000 per day, so he could lose about one-third of his money if he broke the law.
As usual, there were many complaints from drivers. They said that cows and dogs were free to walk on the roads. They always caused danger. Sounding a car horn was the only way to get them to move out of the way. And although there were quite a few traffic lights in the streets of Kathmandu, very few of them worked. This meant there was often a traffic mess.
The ban on using a car horn went ahead, and within a few weeks the streets of Nepal's capital were quieter-even though they were still just as busy. Because of the ban, drivers are a little more careful when they drive. Fewer accidents have been reported. The local government says the horn ban will now be copied in other areas of Nepal.
1. What do Hong Kong and Kathmandu have in common?| A．Both have been troubled by factory pollution. |
| B．Both have succeeded in fighting air pollution. |
| C．Both have been faced with the problem of noise pollution. |
| D．Both have received many complaints about horn pollution. |
| A．Car drivers usually use car horns unnecessarily. |
| B．The cars are becoming more and more. |
| C．Care drivers use car horns as a warning. |
| D．Everyone complain about the horn pollution. |
| A．In 2016. | B．In 2017. |
| C．ln 2018. | D．In 2019. |
| A．No traffic lights in the streets can work. |
| B．The traffic on the roads is usually very heavy. |
| C．Animals are not allowed to walk on the streets. |
| D．Drivers are required to drive on one-way streets. |
| A．It is unfair. | B．It is worrying. |
| C．It is interesting. | D．It is successful. |
4 . With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is the death penalty. Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder, while others maintain there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty reduces the number of murders.
The principal argument advanced by those opposed to the death penalty, basically, is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, which is the mark of a brutal society, and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime anyway.
In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary evil. Throughout recorded history there have always been those extreme individuals in every society who were capable of terribly violent crimes such as murder. But some are more extreme than others.
For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in a fit of blind rage, but quite another to coldly plot and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of relative degree. While it could be argued with some conviction that the criminal in the first instance should be merely separated from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.
The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to debate. But the overwhelming majority of citizens believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is strengthened by evidence which shows that the death penalty deters murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was consistently imposed in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100,000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been carried out only once, and the murder rate has risen to 10.4 murders for each 100,000 population. The sharp climb in the state’s murder rate, which began when executions stopped, is no coincidence. It is convincing evidence that the death penalty does deter many murderers. If the bill reestablishing the death penalty is banned, innocent people will be murdered—some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is literally a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of innocent people must be protected.
1. The principal purpose of this passage is to________.| A．speak for the majority | B．initiate a ban |
| C．criticize the government | D．argue for the value of the death penalty |
| A．negative | B．friendly |
| C．supportive | D．neutral |
| A．the death penalty is the most controversial issue in the United States today |
| B．the ban of the bill reestablishing the death penalty is of little importance |
| C．the second type of murderers should be sentenced to death |
| D．the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be debated |
| A．the effects of execution and the effects of isolation |
| B．the murder rate and the imposition of the death penalty |
| C．the importance of equal rights and that of the death penalty |
| D．executions and murders |
| A．opposing | B．supporting |
| C．neutral | D．not clear |
5 . Visitor Code of Conduct
Please help us maintain a healing environment for our patient. Visiting hours and policies vary throughout the hospital. Please ask a staff member about the policy on the unit you wish to visit. We ask that you comply with the following visitor rules:
• Do not visit if you are sick (fever, cough, sore throat, nausea, or vomiting) or have been exposed to chicken pox (水痘) or other contagious (传染的) illness within the past three weeks.
• Clean your hands each time you enter and leave the patient’s room.
• Follow isolation precautions (隔离预防措施) that are posted on the patient’s door.
• You must wear shoes and shirts at all times. Clothing must be clean and neat.
• Visitors are limited to two per patient each time.
• Do not use waiting rooms on a unit if you are not visiting a patient in that unit.
• Waiting rooms are not for overnight stays.
• Children must have adult supervision (监护) at all times and must be respectful of the hospital’s healing environment. Some units do not allow children’s visiting.
You will be asked to leave for violating (违反) any of the above rules or for the followings:
• Your behavior creates a risk to patients, families or staff.
• You appear to be ill.
• You refuse to follow isolation precautions.
• You are not respectful or considerate of others.
• You fail to supervise children.
If you believe someone is violating these rules, or you need assistance, please notify security by dialing 7363 on the hospital phones or 813-844-7363 on your mobile phone. Security is available at all times.
Waiting areas are monitored at all times by a security video camera.
1. The underlined phrase “comply with” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.| A．obey | B．study |
| C．discover | D．pass |
| A．make an appointment | B．ask permission from the doctor |
| C．check the visiting policy | D．ring up the patient first |
| A．stay at the waiting room of any unit | B．be supervised at all times |
| C．refuse to follow isolation precautions | D．create a new environment for patients |
| A．touch patient equipment | B．visit patients in group of two |
| C．stay overnight in the waiting room | D．change into slippers in the patient room |
| A．Children can go to visit patients by themselves. |
| B．If you seem to be ill, you can still visit the patients unless it is contagious. |
| C．Visitors who violate the rules will not be allowed to visit again. |
| D．You can ask for security’s help at any time. |
Enough ＂meaningless drivel＂. That’s the message from a group of members of the UK government who have been examining how social media firms like LinkedIn gather and use social media data.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s report, released last week, has blamed firms for making people sign up to long incomprehensible legal contracts and calls for an international standard or kitemark (认证标记) to identify sites that have clear terms and conditions.
＂The term and conditions statement that we all carelessly agree to is meaningless drivel to anyone,＂ says Andrew Miller, the chair of the committee. Instead, he says, firms should provide a plain-English version of their terms. The simplified version would be checked by a third party and awarded a kitemark if it is an accurate reflection of the original.
It is not yet clear who would administer the scheme, but the UK government is looking at introducing it on a voluntary basis. ＂we need to think through how we make that work in practice,＂ says Miller.
Would we pay any more attention to a kitemark? ＂I think if you went and did the survey, people would like to think they would,＂ says Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton, UK, who studies open data. ＂We do know people worry a lot about the inappropriate use of their information.＂ But what would happen in practice is another matter, he says.
Other organisations such as banks ask customers to sign long contracts they may not read or understand, but Miller believes social media requires special attention because it is so new. ＂We still don’t know how significant the long-term impact is going to be of unwise things that kids put on social media that come back and bite them in 20 years’ time,＂ he says.
Shadbolt, who gave evidence to the committee, says the problem is that we don’t know how companies will use our data because their business models and uses of data are still evolving. Large collections of personal information have become valuable only recently, he says.
The shock and anger when a social media firm does something with data that people don’t expect, even if users have apparently permission, show that the current situation isn’t working. If properly administered, a kitemark on terms and conditions could help people know what exactly they are signing up to. Although they would still have to actually read them.
1. What does the phrase ＂ meaningless drivel＂ in paragraphs 1 and 3 refer to?
| A．Legal contracts that social media firms make people sign up to. |
| B．Warnings from the UK government against unsafe websites. |
| C．Guidelines on how to use social media websites properly. |
| D．Insignificant data collected by social media firms. |
| A．social media firms would conduct a survey on the kitemark scheme |
| B．people would pay as much attention to a kitemark as they think |
| C．a kitemark scheme would be workable on a nationwide scale |
| D．the kitemark would help companies develop their business models |
| A．their users consist largely of kids under 20 years old |
| B．the language in their contracts is usually harder to understand |
| C．the information they collected could become more valuable in future |
| D．it remains unknown how users’ data will be taken advantage of |
| A．think carefully before posting anything onto such websites |
| B．read the terms and conditions even if there is a kitemark |
| C．take no further action if they can find a kitemark |
| D．avoid providing too much personal information |
| A．Say no to social media? |
| B．New security rules in operation? |
| C．Accept without reading? |
| D．Administration matters! |
