Microsoft employees do not recognize themselves in the government's suits in the Microsoft cafeteria in Redmond, Washington. The governments antitrust suit against the company is frequently discussed among people who (like me) have no inside knowledge of what is actually going on in the negotiations. Slate, the online magazine I edit, is owned by Microsoft, so discount anything I say accordingly as you please. But having lived and worked among them for four years, I have found the attitude of folks inside the company pretty interesting, and maybe you will too. Not people like Bill Gates, or those who write the legal briefs and press releases, but the ordinary software developer in the cafeteria. Call him the Mall in the plaid Flannel Shirt. He or she is, above all, aggrieved. The grievance was well expressed by a midlevel manager when AI Gore "was on campus" a few months ago. At a Q & A session, he told the Vice President, in essence: I have been a Democrat all my life, because I believe in the values the Democratic Party represents. But also work very hard, and I believe that the work I do is helping make life better for people. Yet now my government is telling me that the work I do is actually harmful. So should I believe my government is wrong, or should I believe I'm devoting my life to hurting people? Fortunately for Gore, he was able to duck the question on the ground that he couldn't comment on an active lawsuit. If Gore had wanted to be mean, he might have asked how many stock options that interrogator had and whether that number has any impact on his decision to come to work every day. The human capacity for grievance is deep and universal. Even among these most rational members of the species, grievance seems immune to the reality that "unfair to Microsoft" is the world's least sympathetic evidence, even if it's true. However, it surely counts for something that the typical softy truly doesn't recognize himself or his work in the description of Microsoft, promulgated by the company's critics. He probably hasn't read the legal documents in the case, and is unqualified to judge the legal issues anyway. Even hardened criminals may concoct some innocent rationale for their crimes and believe it themselves. So the fact that my colleagues feel innocent doesn't mean they are innocent. But it surely complicates the issue. These people honestly believe they are promoting innovation, and they genuinely sense rivals at every turn. If the company is a complacent monopoly ruthlessly suppressing innovation, it has somehow become that way even though the people who constitute it are not. It was the day after Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's findings of fact last November if one moment crystallized the bitterness here. Which, despite its label, was widely interpreted as meaning that Microsoft was "gonna get nailed (折磨)." Newspapers across the country carried pictures of the Department of Justice litigators (上诉人) laughing about the judge's ruling. For the competitive Microsoft types, this was rubbing salt in the wounds. And it confirmed their suspicion that the government was unfairly "out to get" them. It's one thing for all official agencies to conclude solemnly that you have violated a vague and complex law.
单选题 Which of the following statements best summarizes the text?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:本题考查考生根据引用的具体实例进行理解推测并归纳观点的能力。本文主要介绍了微软被控垄断的案件,并从微软人的角度进行了分析,所以,C为正确答案。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that employees at Microsoft
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:本题考查考生根据上下文中的具体细节内容进行推理判断的能力。从文中第一段开头就可以得知许多对该案件不了解的人在纷纷议论,但是微软员工却不参与讨论,可以推知B为正确答案。
单选题 The critics mainly charge the Microsoft for
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:本题考查考生根据上下文的具体细节内容进行合理判断和推测的能力。攻击微软的人主要是控告微软进行商业垄断,所以,D为正确答案。
单选题 In the last but one paragraph, the example of "hardened criminals" is mentioned to show that
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:本题考查考生根据上下文中的具体细节内容进行推理判断的能力。文中第四段第三句提出即便是悍匪也会给自己的罪行编造出能使自已无罪的理由而且还让自己相信,作者举这个例子就是为了表示再罪有应得的罪犯也会为自已找理由申辩,所以,B为正确答案。
单选题 What is the author's attitude toward the Microsoft case?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:本题考查考生根据文章中具体内容对作者观点总结归纳的能力。作者用顽固犯罪分子的例子暗示,微软人员虽然自认为是无辜的,而且目前许多问题还未确定,但实际上微软是有问题的。所以,D为正确答案。