单选题 0分

Text 2 Internet service providers have realized that they are sitting on a treasure chest of dat...

Text 2
Internet service providers have realized that they are sitting on a treasure chest of data about your online activities that they could be selling to advertisers. Recognizing the privacy threat, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that would have stopped them from doing so without your consent, but Congress recently shot down the regulation. This is a big deal.
Privacy doesn't merely benefit individuals; it fundamentally shapes how society functions. It is crucial for marginalized communities and for social movements. Privacy enables these groups to network, organize, and develop their ideas before challenging the status quo. But when people know they're being tracked and monitored, they change their behavior. This chilling effect hurts our intellectual freedoms and our capacity for social progress.
The data that tracks our behavior feeds into machine-learning algorithms that make judgments about us. When used for advertising, they can reproduce our own prejudiced behavior. Marketers can use machine learning to figure out your unique features-do you resDond better to words or to pictures? Do you make impulsive shopping decisions? -to target you with exactly the advertisement that will best persuade you. When consequential decisions about employment or loans are made using this kind of data, the result can feel absurd and incomprehensible, because these systems aren't programmed to explain their decisions. There aren't yet effective ways for humans to hold algorithms accountable for how they categorize us.
The good news is how effective technology can be in preventing tracking. We found that ad blockers and other browser-privacy tools can decrease tracking by 80 percent or more. More complex tools can be even more effective. In other worcls, the more technically savvy among us can enjoy dramatically better privacy and digital freedoms. But this has resulted in a technological "arms race," which is worrying by itself, but also because such technical skill correlates with historically advantaged groups. Meanwhile, publishers are caught in the ad- blocking crossfire, endangering the free press.
One bright spot is that online privacy research has had a tremendous effect. It has helped regulators curb the worst of the offenses, forced companies to roll back invasions because of public-relations pressure, spurred the development of privacy tools, and developed a healthy public debate about online tracking. The fight for privacy is now closely linked to the fight for digital civil liberties and democratic values, and it is a movement that includes activists, artists, journalists, researchers, and everyday users of technology. There's tremendous power in your hands to take charge of your own privacy as well as foster these societal values.
30. Online privacy research has had a tremendous effect by____.
  • A. providing evidence to regulators
  • B. fining companies for invasions
  • C. designing privacy tools
  • D. raising public awareness

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1 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
21. The phrase "slapped on the wrist"(Line 2, Para. 1) is closest in meaning to
  • A. given an easy penalty
  • B. forced to resign
  • C. despised by the public
  • D. arrested by the police
2 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
22. Boards today value most executives
  • A. communication skills
  • B. professional competence
  • C. moral rntegrity
  • D. loyalty to the company
3 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
23. The report from PwC reveals
  • A. decreased tolerance to incompetent executives
  • B. increased immoral behaviors among executives
  • C. improvement in executives' job performance
  • D. increased requirements on executives' accountability
4 单选题 0分
Text 1
They are falling like dominoes. Executives caught behaving badly might once have been
slapped on the wrist. Today they are shown the door. On July 19th Paramount Television fired its president, Amy Powell, over reports of insensitive comments about race. This is only the latest bigwig to go in a line of departures linked to "personal misconduct". "Boards are now holding executives to higher standards, looking not just at how they treat people but also how they talk to and about them," says Pam Jeffords of Mercer, a consultancy.
The thread connecting these incidents is that all are about perceptions of executive integrity, and by extension, trust. Since trust violations are particularly hard for firms to overcome, often more so than incompetence, firms may believe that firing an errant executive can be the safest, most pragmatic course of action.
Executives were never alt angels. What has changed is that boards are now far less willing to overlook bad behaviour for the sake of superior performance. A 2017 report from PwC, a professional-services firm, found that the share of chief-executive dismissals that were due to ethical lapses increased between 2007-11 and 2012-2016, not because bosses were behaving worse but because they were held more accountable.
Boards seem to be acting thus for two reasons. First, to protect employees and create a safe and inclusive work environment. Second, to protect their brands' reputations. A 2016 study from researchers at Stanford showed that the fallout from chief executives behaving badly, but not unlawfully, was large and lasting. On average each of the 38 incidents studied garnered 250 news stories, with media attention lasting 4. 9 years. Shares usually suffered, though not always. And in a third of cases firms faced further damage, including loss of major clients and federal investigations.
Should an executive's words be judged as harshly as their actions? From the perspective of protecting the brand, as well as discouraging a toxic work environment, they probably should. The power of social media to turn a whispered comment into a Twitterstorm, and the fact that everyone now has a mobile recording device, demands a decisive response.
But boards and the media also risk rushing to judgment and painting the wicked with too broad a brush. An insensitive remark made long ago or as a one-off is not the same as one made as the face of the firm or as part of a consistent pattern. Disney's firing of James Gunn, a director, last week over tweets from a decade ago, before he was hired and for which he has apologised, seems to be one instance in which such distinctions have been papered over. And plenty of companies benefit from environments where people can speak openly and brainstorm out loud.
Once the fallen dominos have been counted, some firms may turn out to have been too gung-ho in responding to the "Weinstein effect". Many, perhaps most, exits will be justified. But all?
24. We can infer from Paragraphs 4 and 5 that
  • A. many executives behaved badly because of their eagerness to protect brand reputation
  • B. only a small percentage of the stories about executives have been proved true
  • C. a firm may suffer heavy losses due to an insensitive remark from its executives
  • D. social media is encouraging misconducts among chief executives with its great power