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1、资料仅供参考雅思阅读模拟试题及答案解析（4）Selli ng Digital Music without Copy-protecti on Makes SenseA. It was uncharacteristically low-key for the industry s greatestshowma n. But the essay published this week by Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple ,on his firm s website under the unassuming title“ Thoughts on Music ” hasno
2、n etheless provoked a vigorous debate about the future of digital music,which Apple domin ates with its iPod music-player and iTunes music-store. Atissue is “ digital rights man ageme nt” (DRM) the tech no logy guard ingdow nl oaded music aga inst theft. Since there is no com mon sta ndard for DRM,
3、italso has the side-effect that songs purchased for one type of music-player may not work on another. Apple s DRM system , called FairPlay , is the most widespread. So it came as a surprise whe n Mr. Jobs called for DRM for digital music to be abolished.B. This is a cha nge of tack for Apple. It has
4、 come un der fire from Europea n regulators who claim that its refusal to lice nse FairPlay to otherfirms has locked in ” customers. Since music from the iTunes store cannot be played on non-iPod music-players (at least not without a lot of fiddli ng),any iTunes buyer will be deterred from switching
5、 to a device made by a rival firm , such as Sony or Microsoft. When French lawmakers drafted a bill last year compelli ng Apple to ope n up FairPlay to rivals, the compa ny warned of“ state-sp on sored piracy” . Only DRM , it implied , could keep the pirates atbay.C. This week Mr. Jobs gave ano ther
6、 expla nati on for his former defe nee of DRM: the record companies made him do it. They would make their music available to the iTunes store only if Apple agreed to protect it using DRM.They can still withdraw their catalogues if the DRM system is compromised. Apple cannot lice nse FairPlay to othe
7、rs, says Mr Jobs , because it woulddepend on them to produce security fixes promptly. All DRM does is restrict consumer choice and provide a barrier to entry, says Mr Jobs ; without itthere would be far more stores and players, and far more inno vati on. So , hesuggests , why not do away with DRM an
8、d sell music unprotected?“ This isclearly the best alter native for con sumers，” he declares ,“ and Apple wouldembrace it in a heartbeat.”D. Why the sudde n cha nge of heart ? Mr Jobs seems chiefly concernedwith getting Europe s regulators off his back. Rather than complaining toApple about its use
9、of DRM , he suggests ,“ those un happy with the curre ntsituati on should redirect their en ergies towards persuad ing the musiccompanies to sell their music DRM-free.” Two and a half of the four bigrecord compa nies , he helpfully points out, are Europea n-own ed. Mr Jobs alsohopes to paint himself
10、 as a con sumer champi on. Apple rese nts accusati ons thatit has become the Microsoft of digital music.E. Apple can afford to embrace ope n competiti on in music players andon li ne stores. Con sumers would gravitate to the best player and the beststore , and at the moment that still means Apple s.
11、 Mr Jobs is evidentlyunfazed by rivals to the iPod. Since only 3% of the music in a typical iTuneslibrary is protected , most of it can already be used on other players todayhe no tes. (And even the protected tracks can be burned onto a CD and the n reripped.) So Apple s dominance evidently depends
12、far more on branding and easeof use than DRM-related lock in ”.F. The music gia nts are tryi ng DRM-free dow nl oads. Lots of smallerlabels already sell music that way. Having seen which way the wind isblowing , Mr Jobs now wants to be seen not as DRM s defender , but as aconsumer champion who helpe
13、d in its downfall. Wouldn t it lead to a surge inpiracy ? No , because most music is still sold unprotected on CDs, peoplewish ing to steal music already can do so. In deed, scrapp ing DRM wouldprobably in crease on li ne-music sales by reduc ing con fusi on andin compatibility. With the leadi ng on
14、 li ne store, Apple would ben efit most. MrJobs s argument , in short , is transparently self-serving. It also happens to be right.Questio ns 1-7Do the follow ing statemets reflect the claims of the writer in Read ing Passage 1Write your an swer in Boxes 1-7 on your an swer sheet.TRUE if the stateme
15、 nt reflets the claims of the writerFALSE if the stateme nt con tradicts the claims of the writerNOT GIVEN if it is impossbile to say what the writer thinks about this1. Apple enjoys a con trolli ng positi on in digital music market with itsiPod music-player and iTunes music-store.2. DRM is a gover
16、nment decree issued with a purpose to protect dow nl oaded music from theft by con sumers.3. Lack of sta ndardizati on in DRM makes songs bought for one kind of music player may not function on ano ther.4. Apple has been criticized by European regulators since it has refusedto grant a lice nse FairPlay to other firms.5. All music c
