单选题 In 2009 the European Commission carried out an investigation into Microsoft. The American software giant tied Internet Explorer, its web browser, into Windows, the operating system in the great majority of personal computers. This, thought the commission, might be an abuse of its dominance in operating systems: buy a PC, and unless you took the trouble of choosing otherwise, you would browse the web through Explorer.
In December that year Microsoft promised that until 2014 it would provide a "choice screen", asking European Windows users whether they wanted to install another browser. The screen first turned up in March 2010.
Jolly good—but Microsoft forgot to keep its word. On March 6th the competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, said he had fined it 561m ($732m) for not including the choice screen with 15m copies of Windows software between May 2011 and July 2012. Neither Microsoft nor the commission spotted the lapse. It seems that eventually other companies did.
The fine must sting all the more because Microsoft's transgression brought it little if any gain. Explorer has fallen behind Chrome, made by Google, and Firefox, made by Mozilla, a non-profit organisation. And people are doing more and more browsing on smartphones and tablets, the domain of Apple, Google and their browsers.
Microsoft's antitrust woes in Europe should have been over. In 2004 in was fined 497m for trying its media player and server operating systems with it PC system. In 2008 it copped another 899m penalty for failing to comply with the commission's ruling in that case. Lately it has been among the accusers—of Google, which Mr. Almunia has been investigating since 2010.
He suspects Google of abusing a position in online search every bit as imposing as Microsoft's in PC operating systems. Bing, Microsoft's search engine, is a distant second. The commissioner believes that Google may be favouring its own specialised services at rival's expense; that its deals with publishers may unfairly exclude competitors; and that it prevents advertisers from taking their data elsewhere.
Mr. Almunia asked Google to propose by the end of January ways of meeting his concerns. He has not yet said what it suggested or how he will respond. European antitrust cases have a habit of dragging on. Just ask Microsoft.
单选题 According to Paragraph 1, which of the following is true?
  • A.Microsoft is the only software giant in the world.
  • B.A great majority of PCs use Windows as operating system.
  • C.There are many alternatives for users except Internet Explorer.
  • D.The Commission found no evidence of Microsoft's abuse of its dominance.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。 选项与原文对比。A文章提到微软是美国软件巨头，但没有说是世界唯一巨头，the only过于绝对，错误。B原文说：Windows, the operating system in the great majority of personal computers.该项是把这个句子换了个表达方式，是同义替换关系。故正确。C文章最后一句说：...buy a PC, and unless you took the trouble of choosing otherwise, you would browse the web through Explorer...可见用户并非有许多选择，该项错误。D原文：This, thought the commission, might be an abuse of its dominance in operating systems该委员会只是thought(认为)，并没有提及evidence(证据)的问题，故该项错误。
单选题 Microsoft was fined because ______.
  • A.it excluded other competitors
  • B.it abused its dominance in software
  • C.it had a big lapse in its operating system
  • D.it did not include the choice screen as promised
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。 选项与原文对比。答案出现在第三段：...but Microsoft forgot to keep its word. On March 6th the competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, said he had fined it 561m ($732m) for not including the choice screen...可见微软遭到罚款的原因是not including the choice screen，所以答案为D。
单选题 Which one is NOT among the dominant companies in the area of computer browsers?
  • A.Apple.
  • B.Google.
  • C.Mozilla.
  • D.Microsoft.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。 选项与原文对比。文章第四段提到：Explorer has fallen behind Chrome, made by Google, and Firefox, made by Mozilla, a non-profit organisation.可见Microsoft，Google和Mozills都是在浏览器中占主导地位的企业，虽然第四段后文提到了Apple(苹果公司)，但原文说的是：And people are doing more and more browsing on smartphones and tablets, the domain of Apple, Google and their browsers.可见Apple擅长的领域是browsing on smartphones and tablets(智能手机和小型笔记本的浏览器)，而非computer browsers，故该题答案为A。
单选题 The commissioner believes all EXCEPT that ______.
  • A.Google may favour its own services at rival's cost
  • B.Google abuses its dominance in PC operating systems
  • C.Google prevents advertisers from taking their data elsewhere
  • D.the way Google deals with publishers may exclude competitors
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。 选项与原文对比。根据题干定位到第六段：The commissioner believes that Google may be favouring its own specialised services at rival's expense; that its deals with publishers may unfairly exclude competitors; and that it prevents advertisers from taking their data elsewhere.选项A、C、D的内容均出现了，只有B项是张冠李戴，因为在电脑操作系统滥用主导地位的是Microsoft而非Google。故B项为答案。
单选题 We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.
  • A.European antitrust cases usually end quickly
  • B.Google will soon propose a way to solve its problem
  • C.Microsoft may be more experienced in dealing with antitrust cases
  • D.Monopoly in the area of online search and operating system will soon vanish
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。 选项与原文对比。A倒数第二句说：European antitrust eases have a habit of dragging on.可见欧洲反垄断案例的特点是总是拖着，而不是很快结束，故A项错误。B原文说：He has not yet said what it suggested or how he will respond.可见谷歌并没有很快提出一个解决方案，故B项错误。C文章第五段提到微软在欧洲反垄断案件中多次被罚款，该段又说：问问微软就知道了，可见微软在处理类似问题上比较有经验，所以该项表达是正确的。D说“网络搜索和操作系统领域的垄断现象将很快消失”该段或整篇文章都没有涉及，属于无中生有，故错误。