题目内容
Four American college students learned last week that free music downloads can carry a hidden price tag --- US $ 12,000 to $ 17,500, to be exact.
Major record companies accused the students of fueling music piracy(盗版) by running file-sharing networks on campus allowing hundreds of songs to be downloaded for free.
Last Thursday, the four promised not to violate the companies’ copyrights. Although they did not admit any wrongdoing, they each agreed to pay thousands of dollars to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
“I don’t believe that I did anything wrong,” said Daniel Peng at
The payments mark the first time record companies have recovered money from individuals in the
Many record-company executives(主管) blame the long slump in CD sales on file-sharing networks, which let users copy songs from each other’s computers for free.
Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president of business and legal affairs for the RIAA, said the settlements, although well below what the companies could have asked for, were “the right amount” given the situation.
He also noted that since the four lawsuits were filed, at least 18 campus file-sharing networks have been taken down by their operators.
59．What does “a hidden price tag” (Paragraph 1) mean?
A. Record companies intentionally hide the high price of the music.
B. It happens that the music price tag isn’t obvious.
C. One has to pay for having downloaded music freely at last.
D. One has to pay for the music in the future even if it’s allowed to be downloaded freely now.
60．Which of the following is true?
A. The four students planned to violate the company’s copyright.
B. They realized they had done a wrong thing.
C. They refused to pay money to RIAA.
D. They didn’t make any money on file-sharing networks.
61．What’s the probable meaning of “slump” (Paragraph 6)?
A. Decline. B. Increase. C. Keeping the same. D. Jump.
62．What’s the main idea of the whole passage?
A. The students should be responsible for their behavior.
B. It’s too late for record companies to protect their rights.
C. Record companies have taken action to protect their copyrights by accusing individuals of piracy on file-sharing networks.
D. Some record companies wanted to earn money by accusing people of pirating music.
Crowd controls could soon become an important skill for climbers on Mount Everest, as important as physical strength or watching the weather. In a single day last week, nearly 40 people reached the top of the world --- a record. Reports from base camp spoke of queues at dangerous ridges and crowds as people passed each other in the final dash for the 8, 848 meters top.
More traditional mountaineers tease about the circus atmosphere surrounding Everest in recent years, and there are warnings that the crowds are making the mountain more dangerous. In 1996, 14 died on the mountain when the members of several groups were trapped at high altitudes by sudden snowstorms. Bad weather in early May led to this year’s jam on the summit ridge, but the loss, luckily, was light. Just four climbers died, including a Nepali Sherpa who had made 11 previous successful climbing.
Traditionalists are also worried about the growing tendency of climbers to set records and achieve “firsts”, rather than simply climb the mountain. This year’s crop of mountaineers included the oldest man, 64-year-old Sherman Bull from Connecticut, and the youngest, 16-year-old Temba Tsheri Sherpa of Nepal. An American with only one arm was on the mountain this year; an Indian with no legs also tried but failed. Erik Weihennieyer, an American, became the first blind person to reach the top of the world. His fellow climbers stayed in front of him on the way up, describing the type of land and ringing bells.
Nepal（尼泊尔）views Mount Everest as something of a cash cow. The government charges journeys a minimum of $ 70,000. That is probably why officials in Katmandu are ignoring concerns about overcrowding and talking about even more climbers coming next year. But a celebration of the 48th anniversary of the first conquest of Everest, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was cancelled after violent strikes. Tumultuous（动乱的）Nepali politics, it seems, could be just the crowd-control measure that Everest needs.
【小题1】What is the problem that the climbers have to face in recent years?
| A．Bad Weather. | B．Technology. | C．Overcrowding. | D．Physical strength. |
| A．The risks of mountain climbing. |
| B．The consequence of overcrowding. |
| C．The challenge that climbers have to face. |
| D．The damage that snowstorms have caused. |
| A．their great courage | B．their common motivation |
| C．their different identity | D．their outstanding achievements |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Disapproving. | D．Worried. |