Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
Majlis Jonsson is a 73-year-old woman living in the centre of Sweden’s capital Stockholm.She leads an active life with her friends,travelling around the city and meeting in coffee shops.However,one issue causes her stress.
Sweden has been steadily moving towards a completely cashless society for a number of years.Cash is now used in less than one in five of all cash transactions(交易) in stores—half the number as five years ago.The law says shops can refuse to accept cash.Life can be hard for those unwilling or unable to adapt to the changes.Not everyone hates cash.Majlis Jonsson is one such person.She must go to a bank in order to pay her friend back for a train ticket bought digitally.“I just don’t know how to do it.”
Niklas Arvidsson,Sweden’s leading expert on the payment system,acknowledges that some people are in danger of being left behind,like the elderly.“We’ve also got a problem with smaller businessmen in rural areas where perhaps the telecommunication systems are not working,” he says.
Is Sweden benefiting from all this?According to Arvidsson,it is.“Electronic transactions are quicker and cost less in general and make the payment system more efficient.” He also points out that “it is a little bit more difficult in general for the people to get away with not paying taxes or making small thefts without cash.”
Of course,with an increase in digital transactions,the question of data security comes into play.As we freefall through an increasingly virtual world—and payments over the cloud instead of payments with paper—who has access to our information?It is a global problem with no easy solution.
But Arvidsson remains largely positive about cashless transactions.“It’s like a virtual infrastructure is being built...if a highway or a railroad has the capacity to bring people in business closer and increase output,the same thing will happen with technology.I really do believe that once the technology genie is out of the bottle,how do you put it back?”
语篇解读 本文是一篇议论文。文章主要介绍了在瑞典无现金支付正在普及,人们对此看法不一。
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1.What upsets Majlis Jonsson?
A.She has to pay without cash.
B.She owes her friend some money.
C.She has to draw money from the bank.
D.She knows little about the mobile phone.
答案 A
解析 细节理解题。根据第二段可知,瑞典在走向一个完全无现金的社会。现在,在商店的现金交易中,只有不到五分之一使用现金,对于那些不愿或不能适应变化的人来说,生活可能很艰难。Majlis Jonsson就是其中之一,所以使Majlis Jonsson烦恼的是她无法用现金支付,故选A。
2.What’s mentioned by Arvidsson as an advantage of digital transactions?
A.They help reduce some illegal acts.
B.They make paying taxes convenient.
C.They improve telecommunication systems.
D.They save the cost of printing paper money.
答案 A
解析 细节理解题。根据第四段中的“it is a little bit more difficult in general for the people to get away with not paying taxes or making small thefts without cash”可知,Arvidsson指出数字交易的一个好处就是有助于减少一些违法行为,故选A。
3.According to the text,what problem will digital transactions bring about?
A.They will charge extra fees.
B.They will stimulate overspend.
C.They will pose a threat to data security.
D.They will destroy the computer system.
答案 C
解析 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“Of course,with an increase in digital transactions,the question of data security comes into play.”可知,数字交易带来的问题是,它们会对数据安全造成威胁。故选C。
4.How does Arvidsson show the importance of technology?
A.By using study results.
B.By providing examples.
C.By making a comparison.
D.By quoting a famous saying.
答案 C
解析 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“It’s like a virtual infrastructure is being built...if a highway or a railroad has the capacity to bring people in business closer and increase output,the same thing will happen with technology.”可知,Arvidsson通过将科技与公路和铁路相比较,来说明科技的重要性,故选C。