File-sharing occurs whenever one individual sends a file to another. The only way to even try to limit this process is to monitor all communication between ordinary people. Despite the crackdown on Napster, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer(对等网络) services over the past decade, the volume of file-sharing has grown exponentially. Even if the authorities closed down all other possibilities, people could still send copyrighted files as attachments to e-mails or through private networks. If people start doing that, should we give the government the right to monitor all mail and all encrypted(加密) networks? Whenever there are ways of communicating in private, they will be used to share copyrighted material. If you want to stop people doing this, you must remove the right to communicate in private. There is no other option. Society has to make a choice.
The world is at a crossroads. The internet and new information technologies are so powerful that no matter what we do, society will change. But the direction has not been decided.
The internet it still in its infancy, but already we see fantastic things appearing as if by magic. Take Linux, the free computer operating system, or Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. But where technology opens up new possibilities, our intellectual property laws do their best to restrict them. Linux is held back by patents, the rest of the examples by copyright. The public increasingly recognizes the need for reform.
Our manifesto(声明) is to reform copyright laws and gradually abolish(废除) the patent system. We oppose mass surveillance (监视)and censorship(审查制度) on the net, as in the rest of society. We intend to devote all our time and energy to protecting the basal civil liberties on the net and elsewhere.
Political decisions taken over the next five years are likely to set the course we take into the information society, and will affect the lives of millions for many years into the future. The information revolution is happening here and now. It is up to us to decide what future we want.
41. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Over the past decade, the volume of file-sharing has increased doubly.
B. Over the past decade, other peer-to-peer(对等网络) services have been beaten down.
C. Copyright laws should be reformed.
D. File-sharing occurs unless a file is sent on the Internet.
42. In the opinion of the writer, the government ________.
A. has to make a choice
B. should stop people sharing the copyrighted files
C. shouldn't stop people sharing the copyrighted files
D. should monitor all the mail and all encrypted (加密) networks
43. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is____________.
A. to have the basal citizen's freedom on the net and elsewhere
B. to establish the patent system
C. to abolish copyright laws
D. to reform computer operating system
44. The underlined word “restrict” in Paragraph 3 most probably means__________.
A. remove B. limit C. close D. reform
45. We can infer from the passage_______________.
A. A new information revolution will be coming.
B. People won't share copyrighted material on the net
C. People can share the free encyclopedia
D. The future of the Internet will rely on the government
