The power and ambition of the giants of the digital economy is astonishing – Amazon has just announced the purchase of the upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.5bn, but two years ago Facebook paid even more than that to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, whichdoesn't have any physical product at all. What WhatsApp offered Facebookwas an intricate and finely detailed web of its users' friendships and social lives.
参考译文：数字经济巨头的实力与野心令人惊叹——亚马逊刚刚宣布以 135 亿美元收购高端连锁超市 Whole Foods，但两年前 Facebook 为收购 WhatsApp 即时通讯服务所付的代价甚至更多，而 WhatsApp 根本没有任何实体产品。WhatsApp 提供给 Facebook 的，是其用户友谊与社交生活的一张精密而细致入微的网络。
本段词汇：
power and ambition 实力与野心
giant n. 巨头
digital economy 数字经济
astonishing adj. 令人惊叹的
upmarket adj. 高端的
grocery chain 连锁超市
acquire v. 收购
messaging service 即时通讯服务
physical product 实体产品
intricate adj. 精密的，错综复杂的
finely detailed 细致入微的
web n. 网络
social lives 社交生活
Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities,but it broke the promise almost as soon as the deal went through. Even without knowing whatwas in the messages, the knowledge of whosent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be. What political journalist, what party whip,would not want to know the makeup of the WhatsApp groups in which Theresa May's enemies are currently plotting? It may be that the value of Whole Foods to Amazon is not so much the 460 shops it owns, but the records of which customers have purchased what.
参考译文：当时 Facebook 向欧盟委员会承诺，不会将电话号码与 Facebook 身份信息关联，但交易刚一达成，它几乎立刻就违背了这一承诺。即使不知道信息内容是什么，了解是谁发给谁，这一点也极具揭示性，而且现在依然如此。哪位政治记者、哪位党鞭会不想知道特蕾莎·梅的政敌们当前正在其中密谋的 WhatsApp 群组的构成呢？Whole Foods 对亚马逊的价值，也许并不在于它拥有的 460 家门店，而在于记录了哪些顾客购买了什么。
本段词汇：
European commission 欧盟委员会
link...to... 把……关联到……
identity n. 身份信息
break the promise 违背承诺
deal goes through 交易达成
revealing adj. 揭示性的
party whip 党鞭
makeup n. 构成
plot v. 密谋
records n. 记录
Competition law appears to be the only way to address these imbalances of power.But it is clumsy. For one thing, it is very slow compared to the pace of change within the digital economy.By the time a problem has been addressedandremedied it may have vanished in the marketplace, to be replaced by new abuses of power.But there is a deeper conceptual problem, too. Competition law as presently interpreted deals with financial disadvantage to consumers and this is not obvious when the users of these services don't pay for them. The users of their services are not their customers. That would be the people whobuy advertising from them–and Facebook and Google, the two virtual giants,dominate digital advertising to the disadvantage of all other media and entertainment companies.
参考译文：竞争法似乎是解决这些权力失衡的唯一途径。但它笨拙迟缓。一方面，与数字经济内部的变化步伐相比，它非常缓慢。等到某个问题被处理和纠正时，它也许早已在市场中消失，取而代之的是新的权力滥用。但还有一个更深层的概念性问题。按现行解释，竞争法处理的是消费者在经济上受到的损害，而当这些服务的用户并不为之付费时，这种损害并不明显。其服务的使用者并不是它们的客户。真正的客户是从它们那里购买广告的人——而 Facebook 和 Google 这两大虚拟巨头主导着数字广告，使所有其他媒体和娱乐公司处于不利地位。
本段词汇：
competition law 竞争法
imbalance of power 权力失衡
clumsy adj. 笨拙迟缓的
for one thing 一方面
remedy v. 纠正，补救
vanish v. 消失
abuse of power 权力滥用
conceptual problem 概念性问题
as presently interpreted 按现行解释
financial disadvantage 经济上的损害
obvious adj. 明显的
The product they are selling is data,and we, the users,convert our lives to data for the benefit of the digital giants.Just as some ants farm the bugs called aphids for the honeydew they producewhen they feed, so Google farms us for the data that our digital lives yield. Ants keep predatory insects away from where their aphids feed; Gmail keeps the spammers out of our inboxes. It doesn't feel like a human or democratic relationship,even if both sides benefit.
参考译文：它们出售的产品是数据，而我们这些用户，为了数字巨头的利益，把自己的生活转化为数据。就像一些蚂蚁饲养被称为蚜虫的虫子，以获取它们进食时分泌的蜜露一样，Google 也"饲养"我们，以获取我们的数字生活所产出的数据。蚂蚁把掠食性昆虫挡在蚜虫进食之处之外；Gmail 把垃圾邮件发送者挡在我们的收件箱之外。即便双方都受益，这也不像是一种人性化或民主的关系。
本段词汇：
convert...to... 把……转化为……
for the benefit of 为了……的利益
farm v. 饲养（此处为隐喻用法）
aphid n. 蚜虫
honeydew n. 蜜露
yield v. 产出
predatory insect 掠食性昆虫
spammer n. 垃圾邮件发送者
inbox n. 收件箱
democratic adj. 民主的
| A. digital products | B. user information ✓ |
| C. physical assets | D. quality service |
STEP 1 找定位词：Paragraph 1, Facebook acquired WhatsApp
STEP 2 找定位句：第 1 段第 2 句 "What WhatsApp offered Facebook was an intricate and finely detailed web of its users' friendships and social lives."
STEP 3 精读定位句：WhatsApp 提供给 Facebook 的是其用户友谊与社交生活的精密网络——即用户人际关系信息。Facebook 高价收购一个"无任何实体产品"的服务，看中的正是用户信息。
STEP 4 匹配选项：B. user information（用户信息）= web of users' friendships and social lives → B。
A 数字产品不符（文中只说无实体产品，未说数字产品是收购目的）；
C 实体资产与文意相反（which doesn't have any physical product）；
D 优质服务未提及。
| A. worsen political disputes | B. mess up customer records |
| C. pose a risk to Facebook users ✓ | D. mislead the European commission |
STEP 1 找定位词：linking phone numbers to Facebook identities
STEP 2 找定位句：第 2 段第 1、2 句 "Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities, but it broke the promise... the knowledge of who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be."
STEP 3 精读定位句：Facebook 承诺不关联却违背承诺；"who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing"——知道是谁发给谁极具揭示性，意味着用户信息暴露。关联电话号码与身份会让用户信息被揭示，构成对用户的风险。
STEP 4 匹配选项：C. pose a risk to Facebook users（对 Facebook 用户构成风险）= enormously revealing → 用户信息暴露 → C。
A 恶化政治争端是后续举例（党鞭、政敌密谋），非"对用户"的主要影响；
B 弄乱客户记录无中生有；
D 误导欧盟委员会是 Facebook 违背承诺的对象，但题目问"可能造成什么"，核心是对用户的风险。
| A. should serve the new market powers | B. may worsen the economic imbalance |
| C. should not provide just one legal solution | D. cannot keep pace with the changing market ✓ |
STEP 1 找定位词：competition law
STEP 2 找定位句：第 3 段第 3、4 句 "it is very slow compared to the pace of change within the digital economy. By the time a problem has been addressed and remedied it may have vanished in the marketplace, to be replaced by new abuses of power."
STEP 3 精读定位句：very slow compared to the pace of change（与变化步伐相比很慢）+ By the time a problem... remedied it may have vanished（问题处理完时市场已变）——竞争法跟不上市场变化的速度。
STEP 4 匹配选项：D. cannot keep pace with the changing market（跟不上变化的市场）= very slow compared to pace of change → D。
A 应服务于新市场势力与文意相反（竞争法是要制约巨头）；
B 可能恶化经济失衡相反（竞争法是 to address imbalances）；
C 不应只提供一种法律解决方案文中未说（文中说它 clumsy，不是说"不应只一种"）。
| A. they are not defined as customers ✓ | B. they are not financially reliable |
| C. the services are generally digital | D. the services are paid for by advertisers |
STEP 1 找定位词：Competition law as presently interpreted, protect Facebook users
STEP 2 找定位句：第 3 段第 6、7 句 "Competition law as presently interpreted deals with financial disadvantage to consumers and this is not obvious when the users of these services don't pay for them. The users of their services are not their customers."
STEP 3 精读定位句：竞争法处理的是 consumers（消费者）的经济损害，但用户不付费时这种损害不明显；且"用户不是它们的客户"——用户未被纳入"消费者/客户"的法律界定，故得不到保护。
STEP 4 匹配选项：A. they are not defined as customers（他们未被界定为客户）= The users...are not their customers → A。
B 经济上不可靠无中生有；
C 服务通常是数字的虽是事实但非原因；
D 服务由广告商付费是事实，但直接原因是"用户不是客户"这一界定问题。
| A. a win-win business model between digital giants | B. a typical competition pattern among digital giants |
| C. the benefits provided for digital giants' customers | D. the relationship between digital giants and their users ✓ |
STEP 1 找定位词：ants analogy（例证题，定位类比所在句）
STEP 2 找定位句：第 4 段第 2 句 "Just as some ants farm the bugs called aphids for the honeydew they produce when they feed, so Google farms us for the data that our digital lives yield."
STEP 3 精读定位句：Just as...so... 类比结构：蚂蚁饲养蚜虫以获取蜜露 ↔ Google "饲养"我们以获取数据。类比的两端是"Google（数字巨头）"与"我们（用户）"的关系。
STEP 4 匹配选项：D. the relationship between digital giants and their users（数字巨头与用户之间的关系）= Google farms us → D。
A 双赢商业模式只覆盖"both sides benefit"这一侧面，非类比主旨；
B 巨头间竞争模式不符（类比是巨头与用户，非巨头之间）；
C 为巨头客户提供的利益不符（us 是用户，非客户；客户是广告商）。
