After the dotcom boom of the 1990s, the world is about to experience a boom in dots. Over 1,000 new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) are set to join the 22 existing ones, such as .com and .org, and the 280 country-specific ones, such as .uk, that now grace the end of web addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) , the nonprofit organisation that manages the web's address book, reckons this will boost competition and innovation. It will also increase the cost to businesses of protecting their brands. Some of the new gTLDs, such as .guru and .sexy, will flatter owners' egos. Others, such as .clothing and .photography, will be used by firms to tout their wares. Among the first to go live, on February 4th, was ".web" written in Arabic script. That made history: until now all generic top-level domains have been written in Latin lettering, meaning internet users with Arabic keyboards had to wrestle with ALT, CTRL and the like to type the last few letters of most websites' names. Other gTLDs in scripts such as Chinese and Russian will follow in the coming months. Firms including Apple, Ford and IWC, a watchmaker, have already applied to register their names as gTLDs. That will allow them to ensure they are not used by crooks or cybersquatters. Google, Amazon and others have applied for numerous gTLDs, including .app and .kindle, presumably because they want to use them and think they can make money by selling the right to use "second-level" domains (for example, economist, app), typically for $10—50 a year. Firms may also be keen to buy certain second-level domains to stop them falling into the wrong hands. Donuts, a company that has lodged hundreds of applications for gTLDs, has .wtfand .sucks on its list. But there are costs to owning a gTLD. Firms must pay $185,000 to ICANN when applying for one, plus $25,000 for each year they use it. Deciding which ones to splash out on is tricky. New domains including .biz and .mobi have been added in the past, but have failed to put a dent in the wildly popular .com. The avalanche of new domains may also confuse web users, who often get to their destinations via search engines rather than by typing web addresses into browsers. Greater choice and competition should eventually bring them benefits. But the transition may be .complicated.
单选题
The appearance of new gTLDs is said to ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：题目大意：新域名的出现据说可以______。根据题干中的“new gTLDs”比较难定位，因为全文各段都在讨论这个主题，只能根据出题顺序，从第一段开始寻找。该段第二句提到：Over 1,000 new generic top—level domain names (gTLDs) are set to join the 22 existing ones…大意为：超过1000个新的域名出现了。最后两句提到：...reckons this will boost competition and innovation．It will also increase the cost to businesses of protecting their brands．其中，this和it指代的就是上文提到“新域名出现”这件事。故得出该题答案：boost competition and innovation(促进竞争和创新)；increase the cost to businesses(增加企业成本)。四个选项分别是：A项enhance innovation(促进创新)；B项strengthen cooperation(加强合作)；C项protect brands of businesses(保护企业品牌)；D项bring benefits to the companies(为企业带来收益)。能够与原文部分信息相符的只有选项A，故该项为答案。
单选题
According to the second paragraph, which one is true?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：根据选项A中的“.guru”定位到第二段首句：...such as .guru and .sexy, will flatter owners' egos. 其中“flatter owners' egos”与该项“may be selling articles”完全不符，故该项错误。选项B对应第三、四句：Among the first to go live，on February 4th，was“ .web”written in Arabic script．That made history：until now all generic top-level domains have been written in Latin lettering…由此可见，域名将会出现阿拉伯文字，因此B项错误。选项C对应该段最后一句：Other gTLDs in scripts such as Chinese and Russian will follow in the coming months．由此判断该项错误。选项D对应该段第二句：Others，such as .clothing and .photography，will be used by firms to tout their wares. 原文的“will be used by firms to tout their wares(被企业用来兜售商品)”与该项的“may be a profitable one(可能是一个营利性网站)”是同义替换，故该项正确。
单选题
Firms may enjoy buying second-level gTLDs because ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：根据题干中的“second-level gTLDs”定位到第三段。该段出现两次second-level domains(即second-level gTLDs)，第一次出现在中间部分：because they want to use them and think they can make money by selling the fight to use“second—level”domains．注意，该句说的是by selling the fight to use“second-level”domains，而题目问的是“buying second-level gTLDs”，故该句话不是答案来源。第二次出现在倒数第二句：Firms may also be keen to buy certain second-level domains to stop them falling into the wrong hands．其中，“Firms may also be keen to buy certain second-level domains”对应题干“Firms may enjoying buying second-level gTLDs”，故答案来自该句话的后半部分：to stop them falling into the wrong hands，而该句与选项D表述一致。故答案为选项D。
单选题
We can conclude from the last two paragraphs that ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：选项A对应最后一段第二句：Greater choice and competition should eventually bring them benefits．显然，选项A的“bring no benefit at all”与之表述不符，因此选项A错误。选项B对应第四段第三句：Deciding which ones to splash out on is tricky．其中splash out表示“挥霍”，tricky表示“狡猾的，复杂的”。该句大意为：决定购买哪一个(域名)是复杂的。该项意为：决定购买哪个域名很重要。该项与原文信息基本一致，故正确。选项C对应第四段最后一句：New domains including .biz and .mobi have been added in the past，but have failed to put a dent in the wildly popular .com．其中failed一词提示我们这句话是否定的，而选项C的“过去许多新域名大获成功”显然与之相反，故该项错误。选项D对应最后一段第一句：...web users, who often get to their destinations via search engines rather than by typing web addresses into browsers. 大意为：互联网用户通常通过搜索引擎找到他们的网站，而不是在浏览器输入网址。该项则说：互联网用户很少在搜索引擎输人信息。显然两者表述不符，故该项错误。综上所述，答案为选项B。