There have always been laws against copying other people's ideas. However, when copying was only limited to copying something by hand, problems were solved easily. The solution was always the destruction or removal of the copy. Nowadays, the rise of the Internet has made the issue of intellectual property more complicated. Almost every bit of information can be cut and pasted with a few clicks of a mouse. Many art forms such as writings, films, and music need new protection to ensure that people do not simply transfer them for free. Online illegal copying has been blamed for a huge reduction in the sales of many records because it is hard to convince people to buy something that they can get for free. Even the ideas behind traditional games, such as Scrabble, have been used without the owners' permission. Old laws have been struggling to keep up. While music companies have been successful in persuading courts that action should be taken against people who illegally download music, the law is difficult to carry out. Furthermore, intellectual property rights vary widely from country to country, so it's up for debate which laws apply. Finally, there is the fact that many people simply do not see the act as theft , since once the work has been digitized there is no clear physical object to steal in the first place. All of these issues mean that companies involved with intellectual property -- ideas or easily digitized information -- are fighting desperately to get people to pay for the information they use, rather than paying for an object like a CD that they use. While the companies have sometimes been successful, the practical barriers to full protection seem _ . Finally, all that concerned parties can do is hope that their few successes scare off others and try to find new ways of making money. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a problem of carrying out intellectual property rights? A) Laws are not the same in all countries. B) People do not see copying information as theft. C) It is very hard to catch people who are breaking the law. D) Internet service providers do not want to cooperate with the police.
D
(Question)
The Friday after the American holiday of Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It's said that it's the day that store ledgers move into the black and companies become profitable. On that day, retailers slash prices to get consumers to buy. It is also a time when many Americans start their Christmas shopping. VOA's Elizabeth Lee tells us how the economy may affect consumers on that bargain day. This day should be a shopper's dream. "It's just the deals, the sales and everything you can get for a lesser price," said Sandy Thomas, a shopper. But it's a nightmare for others. "I think it's crazy. I've done all of my shopping throughout the week so I don't have to go out on Friday," she said. It's called Black Friday, the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. Every year it's the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Stores open before sunrise and there are deep discounts everywhere you look. Last year a crowd of bargain-hunters killed a Wal-mart worker in a New York suburb. This year, many stores are increasing security while they slash prices. "This is a huge time for the retail stores," said Fred Joutz from George Washington University. "This is when they begin making their profits for the year." Economics professor Fred Joutz says how Americans spend the weekend after Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future. With the unemployment rate above 10 percent, Joutz says Americans are saving more and spending less. Some retailers are attracting consumers by opening on Thanksgiving Day, when shops are traditionally closed. Other stores open their doors anywhere from midnight to four in the morning. And shoppers will be lining up in front of the doors in order to be one of the first ones to walk through and get a big discount. Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually the first items to go. Sandy Thomas says it's an annual family tradition and well worth it. "I just save maybe half of what I would have spent on a regular, you know, shopping trip," she... Why American people call it a black day? A) Because they organize activities in honor of some great person. B) Because there are too many people going out shopping for Christmas. C) Too many people are celebrating Thanks giving. D) The sky is black that day.
(Answer)
B
Ques: We don't have beds in the space shuttle, but we do have sleeping bags. During the day, when we are working, we leave the bags tied to the wall, out of the way. At bedtime we untie them and take them wherever we've chosen to sleep. On most space shuttle flights everyone sleeps at the same time. No one has to stay awake to watch over the space plane: the shuttle's computers and the enginers at the Control Office do that. If anything goes wrong. The computers ring a warning bell and the engineers call us on the radio. On the space shuttle, sleep-time doesn't mean nighttime. During each ninety-minute flight around the earth, the sun "rises" and shines through our windows for about fifty minutes: then it "sets" as our flight takes us around the dark side of the Earth. To keep the sun out of our eyes, we wear black sleep masks. It is surprisingly easy to get comfortable and fall asleep in space, and we sleep differently. Some sleep upside down, some sideways, some right side up. When it's time to sleep, I take my bag, my sleep mask, and my tape player with earphones and float up to the flight platform. Then I get into the bag, and float into a sitting position just above a seat, right next to a window. Before I pull the mask down over my eyes, I relax for a while, listening to music and watching the Earth go by under me. When I'm in space I don't need as much sleep as I do on Earth Maybe that's because when I am weightless, I don't feel as tired. Or maybe it's because I'm excited to be in space and don't want to waste time sleeping. What does the passage mainly talk about? A) How to live in space B) How they sleep in space C) How to fall asleep in space D) How the space shuttle functions
Ans: B
Question: Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China's suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research. Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country's Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world. According to Jing's calculation, China's suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the "missing" suicides were added, China's suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.[:Zxxk.Com] Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men. As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people's lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to... In Jing's opinion, what should be done to reduce the suicide? A) Pay more attention to rural women. B) Continue to improve social environment. C) Set up more mental health centers. D) Make policies to prevent suicides.
Answer:
B