题型:阅读表达 题类:真题 难易度:普通
Your mobile is now much more than just a communication device - more like a remote control for your life. You still call it a "mobile" from habit, but it is an organizer, entertainment device, payment device and security(安全) center, all developed and manufactured by engineers.
What we do need is better mobiles and more intelligence. Because it knows your travel timetable it can check for problems on the roads or with the trains, giving you the best route into work. It can control your home, reprogramming the central heating if you need to get up earlier and keeping an eye on your home by connecting your mobile with the home security system. It is your payment system—you can pay for tickets for journeys or buy items in shops by placing the phone near a sensor(感应器). With an understanding of location, the mobile can also provide directions, or even tell you if your friends or family are nearby.
Usually it will start work even before you wake. It will work with your home entertainment system while you sleep to find programmes that will interest you and download them as a podcast to watch on the train or in other spare moments. It will intelligently work out what to do with incoming phone calls and messages. Because it knows your diary it will also know, for example, to direct voice calls to voicemail when you are in a meeting, perhaps providing a discrete text summary of the caller and the nature of their call.
With its understanding of almost all aspects of your life; many new services become possible. For example, a “Good Food” meal planning service could send daily suggestions for your evening meal based on learned preferences, previous selections made and the likely contents of your refrigerator.
Ten years ago the mobile was purely a device for making voice calls. Now it is a camera, MP3 player, and texting device. This is only the start of an evolution that will turn it into our trusted and indispensable companion in life.
Mobile phones | ||
Your mobile phone is not only a phone but also a remote control for your {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. | ||
Functions of your mobile phone | Organizer | * {#blank#}2{#/blank#}for problems on the roads or with the trains and find the best {#blank#}3{#/blank#}into work for you. *Control your home's central {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. *Deal with your phone calls and messages and {#blank#}5{#/blank#}voice calls to voicemail when you are in a meeting. *Send daily {#blank#}6{#/blank#}for your meals through a “Good Food” meal planning service. |
{#blank#}7{#/blank#} device | *Find and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}programmes for you to watch. | |
Payment device | *Pay for tickets for journeys or {#blank#}9{#/blank#} items in shops. | |
Security center | *You can look after your home by {#blank#}10{#/blank#}your mobile phone with the home security system. | |
Conclusion | Mobile phones will be our trusted and necessary helpers in life. |
“Urgent action required”, “Do you still want to hear from us?”, “We've updated our privacy policy”, “Should we stop sending you updates? If not, act now!”
Many of us will have received emails like this during the past few weeks. Triggering this flood of emails is something called GDPR that comes into effect in just under two weeks' time. Often the emails warn that if you don't respond, you will be removed from the company's database, which raises a lot of questions. What action, if any, do you need to take? Could it affect you financially?
GDPR, which stands for General Data Protection Regulation, has been described as the biggest overhaul(彻底检查)of online privacy since the birth of the internet. It is designed to give all EU citizens the right to know what data is stored on them and to have it deleted, plus protect them from privacy breaches(破坏). It comes into effect on 25 May.
The new rules encourage the requirement for explicit and informed consent before data is processed. As a result, companies and organizations around the world are contacting users to check they are happy to carry on receiving their emails.
However, many of us seem to be going down with “GDPR fatigue(厌倦)”: one article last week claimed that the “reconfirmation rate” - the proportion of people saying they want to continue receiving a company's emails - at UK micro-businesses was averaging just 10%, which meant “they could lose 90% of their subscribers - the life-blood for their business”. So it's no wonder some firms have adopted policies such as offering to enter people into a prize draw in return for them going in and updating their communication preferences.
The average adult is said to have about 100 “data relationships” — companies and organizations that hold our personal data. Meanwhile, the reason why the company that occasionally emails you newsletters is now asking for your consent is perhaps because you never explicitly gave it permission to send you stuff. Maybe you only get its emails because you went to an event it organized ages ago or you once downloaded something from its website. Under the new regime, that almost certainly wouldn't count as explicit and informed consent, hence it's getting in touch now.
The bottom line is that if it is a company or organization that you want to continue hearing from, you should probably click the button or log in to ensure you keep getting its emails. If it doesn't hear from you, it may decide to take you off its database.
Passage outline | Supporting details |
The influences of junk mails | ◆ They flood into our lives. ◆ They{#blank#}1{#/blank#} to remove us from certain databases. ◆ They cause receivers to be{#blank#}2{#/blank#} about the possible risks. |
The{#blank#}3{#/blank#}of GDPR | ◆ It will guarantee all EU citizens the{#blank#}4{#/blank#} to accept or refuse. ◆ It will require privacy {#blank#}5{#/blank#}from companies. |
The {#blank#}6{#/blank#}from most receivers and the policies adopted by some firms | ◆ Most receivers are{#blank#}7{#/blank#} to continue receiving such emails. ◆ Some firms hold activities so that people may win a {#blank#}8{#/blank#} if they go in. ◆ Some firms offer to update people's communication preferences. |
The reason and bottom line for companies sending such emails | ◆ Companies hope to obtain explicit{#blank#}9{#/blank#} from their users. ◆ The information you left {#blank#}10{#/blank#} doesn't mean you allow them to send you stuff. ◆ Without your reply, companies may take you off their databases. |
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