Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
A group of Labour MPs, among them Yvette Cooper, are bringing in the new year with a call to institute a UK “town of culture” award. The proposal is that it should sit alongside the existing city of culture title, which was held by Hull in 2017, and has been awarded to Coventry for 2021. Cooper and her colleagues argue that the success of the crown for Hull, where it brought in £220m of investment and an avalanche of arts, ought not to be confined to cities. Britain’s towns, it is true, are not prevented from applying, but they generally lack the resources to put together a bid to beat their bigger competitors. A town of culture award could, it is argued, become an annual event, attracting funding and creating jobs.
Some might see the proposal as a booby prize for the fact that Britain is no longer able to apply for the much more prestigious title of European capital of culture, a sought-after award bagged by Glasgow in 1990 and Liverpool in 2008. A cynic might speculate that the UK is on the verge of disappearing into an endless fever of self-celebration in its desperation to reinvent itself for the post-Brexit world: after town of culture, who knows what will follow—village of culture? Suburb of culture? Hamlet of culture?
It is also wise to recall that such titles are not a cure-all. A badly run “year of culture” washes in and washes out of a place like the tide, bringing prominence for a spell but leaving no lasting benefits to the community. The really successful holders of such titles are those that do a great deal more than fill hotel bedrooms and bring in high-profile arts events and good press for a year. They transform the aspirations of the people who live there; they nudge the self-image of the city into a bolder and more optimistic light.
It is hard to get right, and requires a remarkable degree of vision, as well as cooperation between city authorities, the private sector, community groups and cultural organisations. But it can be done: Glasgow’s year as European capital of culture can certainly be seen as one of a complex series of factors that have turned the city into the powerhouse of art, music and theatre that it remains today.
A “town of culture” could be not just about the arts but about honouring a town’s peculiarities—helping sustain its high street, supporting local facilities and above all celebrating its people. Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, should welcome this positive, hope-filled proposal, and turn it into action.
1、21. Cooper and her colleagues argue that a “town of culture” award could ________.
A consolidate the town-city ties in Britain
B promote cooperation among Britain’s towns
C increase the economic strength of Britain’s town
D focus Britain’s limited resources on cultural events
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Cooper and her colleagues argue可定位至原文第一段第三句。该句提到，库珀和她的同事们认为，赫尔市获得了“文化之城”（city of culture）的称号，这给它带来了2.2亿英镑的投资，同时也带动了艺术繁荣，而这种情况不应该局限于城市。后文接着提到，英国的城镇由于缺乏资源而无法与城市竞争“文化之城”，而“文化之镇”的评选却可以作为年度盛事来帮助城镇吸引资金、创造就业。也就是说库珀和她同事对于“文化之镇”的看法是，可以通过此活动推动城镇的经济发展，因此C项正确。
错项排除：文章第一段中提到了city和town，但它们是分别作为两个独立的主体，并未提及两者之间的联系，故A项排除。B项中，关于城镇之间的合作，没有原文依据，故排除。D项利用cultural events和limited resources设置干扰，但第一段最后说的是“文化之镇”可以作为一项年度活动（annual event），并没有说要聚焦于文化活动（cultural events）上，该段中提到城镇缺乏资源（lack the resources）也不等同于D项中英国有限的资源（limited resources），故D项排除。
长难句分析：Cooper and her colleagues argue that the success of the crown for Hull, where it brought in £220m of investment and an avalanche of arts, ought not to be confined to cities.
本句为复合句。句子主干为Cooper and her colleagues argue that，是主谓宾结构，that后面为宾语从句。宾语从句为主谓宾结构，主语为the success，谓语为ought not to be confined to，宾语为cities，其中be confined to意为“局限于……”。宾语从句中包含一个where引导的非限制性定语从句，用于进一步说明该称号为赫尔市带来的好处。
句意为：库珀和她的同事们认为，赫尔市荣获的这一称号给它带来了2.2亿英镑的投资，同时也带动了该地的艺术繁荣，这种成功不应只局限于城市。
2、22. According to Paragraph 2, the proposal might be regarded by some as ________.
A a sensible compromise
B a self-deceiving attempt
C an eye-catching bonus
D an inaccessible target
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Paragraph 2和the proposal可定位至原文第二段第一句。题干中的regarded...as...是对文中see...as...的同义替换，该句指出，有些人将提案视为a booby prize（安慰奖），根据后文可知，人们将提案视为a booby prize是因为英国已无法再申请“欧洲文化之都”这样知名度较高的荣誉称号了。本段第二句接着提到，而愤世嫉俗者认为，英国在脱欧后急于重塑自身形象，正逐渐湮没在自我庆祝的无尽狂欢中。结合这两种看法可以推断出，一些人对提案的看法是消极的、负面的：因为无法申请更好的荣誉称号，所以设立一种具有自我欺骗性质的安慰奖来作为替代品，因此B项正确。
错项排除：A项中的sensible compromise在文中并无与此相关的表述，可直接排除。C项中的bonus主要是针对文中出现的award来设置干扰，但文中所说的提案是设立a “town of culture” award，并没有对有无奖金作具体描述，故C项排除。原文说英国无法再申请诸如“欧洲文化之都”这样的荣誉称号了，并不是说提案中的“文化之镇”是无法达到的目标，故D项排除。
长难句分析：Some might see the proposal as a booby prize for the fact that Britain is no longer able to apply for the much more prestigious title of European capital of culture, a sought-after award bagged by Glasgow in 1990 and Liverpool in 2008.
本句为复合句。句子主干为Some might see the proposal as a booby prize，是主谓宾结构。for the fact that之后部分为原因状语从句，从句中主语为Britain，谓语为is no longer able to apply for，介词for后面为宾语。a sought-after award 是前面European capital of culture的同位语，bagged by Glasgow in 1990 and Liverpool in 2008作后置定语修饰a sought-after award。
句意为：有些人可能会认为这个提案不过是一种安慰奖，因为英国已经无法再申请“欧洲文化之都”这种更具知名度的荣誉称号了。“欧洲文化之都”这一颇受欢迎的称号在1990年由格拉斯哥市获得，在2008年由利物浦市获得。
3、23. The author suggests that a title holder is successful only if it ________.
A endeavors to maintain its image
B meets the aspirations of its people
C brings its local arts to prominence
D commits to its long-term growth
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的a title holder和successful可定位至第三段第三句。该句指出，对于那些成功获得荣誉称号的城市，该称号不只是在一年的时间里使酒店房间爆满，带来引人瞩目的艺术活动和媒体好评，它还会改变当地居民的愿望，塑造更大胆、更乐观的城市形象。再结合第三段开始提到的不太好的案例，举办得很糟糕的“文化年”只会带来一时的声望却不能产生持久的影响，可以得出结论：获得荣誉称号的城市只有更注重长期发展，才能算得上成功，因此D项正确。
错项排除：A项利用image设置干扰，但文中是说塑造更为乐观、大胆的城市形象，而且这只是城市长期发展的一个具体表现，并不是成功的必要条件，故A项排除。B项“满足当地人的愿望”与文中说的“改变当地人民的愿望”相悖，故排除。C项利用第三段第二句中的bringing prominence作干扰，但原文说的是举办得很糟糕的“文化年”只会带来短期的名气，并没有提到local arts的相关信息，而第三句中的bring in high-profile arts events也只是成功案例的具体表现之一，并非必要条件，因此arts只是干扰信息，故C项排除。
4、24. “Glasgow” is mentioned in Paragraph 4 to present ________.
A a contrasting case
B a supporting example
C a background story
D a related topic
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为例证题。根据题干中的Glasgow和Paragraph 4可定位至原文第四段第二句。第四段第一句提到，想要做到正确很难，这需要市政当局的远见卓识以及各个方面的协作。第二句明确指出，但这是可以做到的，接着提到Glasgow，说它当选为欧洲文化之都，把自身变成了文化、音乐、戏剧的实力强区，并且一直将这样的地位保持到今天。由此可见，第二句冒号后面的内容是对冒号前面观点的举例说明，所以说，Glasgow的例子是对第一句的例证，即虽然想要做到正确很难，但Glasgow做到了，这属于一个支持性的论据，因此B为正确答案。
错项排除：文章中Glasgow的出现是作为一个成功的例子，A项中“对比鲜明的反例”与原文内容相悖，故排除。Glasgow在文中并不是作为某件事的背景出现的，故C项排除。D项过于笼统，无法表明其真正作用，故排除。
5、25. What is the author’s attitude towards the proposal?
A Skeptical.
B Objective.
C Favorable.
D Critical.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为观点态度题。根据题文同序原则，可定位至原文最后一段。通读文章可知，前四段是对提案相关内容的客观描述，最后一段是作者对提案的看法。最后一段中，作者说到，“文化之镇”不仅仅只是关于艺术，还有助于维持当地商业文化的繁荣，根据原文中的honouring、helping、supporting和celebrating这类含有积极意义的词可知，作者对提案的态度是积极的、赞成的，因此选C。
错项排除：通过最后一段，可知作者的态度是积极的，因此含消极意义的A、D项可排除。在最后一段中，作者描述了提案的积极作用，并未涉及不足之处，文章第二段对提案的消极评价只是一些愤世嫉俗者的观点，并非作者的观点，因此B项排除。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Scientific publishing has long been a licence to print money. Scientists need journals in which to publish their research, so they will supply the articles without monetary reward. Other scientists perform the specialised work of peer review also for free, because it is a central element in the acquisition of status and the production of scientific knowledge.
With the content of papers secured for free, the publisher needs only find a market for its journal. Until this century, university libraries were not very price sensitive. Scientific publishers routinely report profit margins approaching 40% on their operations, at a time when the rest of the publishing industry is in an existential crisis.
The Dutch giant Elsevier, which claims to publish 25% of the scientific papers produced in the world, made profits of more than £900m last year, while UK universities alone spent more than £210m in 2016 to enable researchers to access their own publicly funded research; both figures seem to rise unstoppably despite increasingly desperate efforts to change them.
The most drastic, and thoroughly illegal, reaction has been the emergence of Sci-Hub, a kind of global photocopier for scientific papers, set up in 2012, which now claims to offer access to every paywalled article published since 2015. The success of Sci-Hub which relies on researchers passing on copies they have themselves legally accessed, shows the legal ecosystem has lost legitimacy among its users and must be transformed so that it works for all participants.
In Britain the move towards open access publishing has been driven by funding bodies. In some ways it has been very successful. More than half of all British scientific research is now published under open access terms: either freely available from the moment of publication or paywalled for a year or more so that the publishers can make a profit before being placed on general release.
Yet, the new system has not worked out any cheaper for the universities. Publishers have responded to the demand that they make their product free to readers by charging their writers fees to cover the costs of preparing an article. These range from around £500 to £5,000. A report last year pointed out that the costs both of subscriptions and of these “article preparation costs” had been steadily rising at a rate above inflation.
In some ways the scientific publishing model resembles the economy of the social internet: labour is provided free in exchange for the hope of status, while huge profits are made by a few big firms who run the market places. In both cases, we need a rebalancing of power.
6、26. Scientific publishing is seen as “a licence to print money” partly because ________.
A its funding has enjoyed a steady increase
B its marketing strategy has been successful
C its payment for peer review is reduced
D its content acquisition costs nothing
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的a licence to print money可定位至原文第一段第一句。文章一开始就提到，科学类刊物出版业一直以来都是“印钞许可证”，之后提到两个原因，分别是科学家们会无偿提供论文，以及另一些科学家们免费提供同行评审工作。由此可知，科学类刊物出版业之所以被认为是“印钞许可证”是因为它获取的出版内容都是免费的，D项中的its content acquisition对应第一段第二句的supply the articles，costs nothing对应原文中的without monetary reward，故D项是对这两点内容的概括。在第二段第一句中也明确提到了科研论文内容可免费获取，因此D项正确。
错项排除：文章第三段中提到了funded和increasingly，但原文说的是研究人员在公共资助下所做的研究，以及大学支付的订阅费用和学术出版业的利润有所增长，A项利用原文这两个词进行细节拼凑，故排除。文章第二段说到，出版商只需要找到市场，并不涉及市场营销的具体内容，故B项排除。C项中同行评审费用降低与文中所说的免费的同行评审不相符，故排除。
7、27. According to Paragraphs 2 and 3, scientific publisher Elsevier has ________.
A thrived mainly on university libraries
B gone through an existential crisis
C revived the publishing industry
D financed researchers generously
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为推断题。根据题干中的Paragraph 2 and 3可定位至原文第二、三段。原文第二段主要是讲科研论文的出版是免费的，出版商只需要找到市场即可；而大学图书馆则对钱并不敏感。第三段主要是说学术类出版商爱思唯尔的年利润高达9亿英镑，而英国大学订阅这些科研资料的费用就达到了2.1亿英镑。结合第二、三段内容可知，学术类出版商从大学获得的出版内容（研究人员的科研成果）是免费的，但是大学的研究人员要想重新读到他们自己的研究成果，则需要支付订阅费用，这也是学术类出版商获取利润的模式。由此可知，出版商获利的主要来源是大学，因此A项正确。
错项排除：B项中的existential crisis出现在原文第二段末尾，但原文指的是其他出版商遇到的危机，而不是说爱思唯尔遇到了危机，B项属于张冠李戴，故排除。第三段说在其他类出版业都面临危机的时候，爱思唯尔的利润仍高达9亿英镑，但这并不等同于爱思唯尔振兴了出版行业，故C项排除。文中提到科研工作者的研究成果是受到publicly funded（公共资金资助），并不是爱思唯尔资助的，故D项排除。
8、28. How does the author feel about the success of Sci-Hub?
A Relieved.
B Puzzled.
C Concerned.
D Encouraged.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为态度题。根据题干中的the success of Sci-Hub可定位至第四段。题目问作者对Sci-Hub网站的成功持何种态度，从该段作者描述Sci-Hub时使用的词语thoroughly illegal（完全非法的）可以看出，作者对该网站的评价是负面的。在第四段最后，文章指出，Sci-Hub网站的成功表明出版业的法律生态系统已经失去了其合法性。由此可以得出，作者对于Sci-Hub对学术出版行业所造成的冲击是深感忧虑的，因此选C。
错项排除：从文中描述Sci-Hub所用的词thoroughly illegal可以看出作者对其评价是负面的，故排除表示积极态度的A、D选项。B项“感到疑惑的”没有原文依据，故排除。
9、29. It can be learned from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that open access terms ________.
A allow publishers some room to make money
B render publishing much easier for scientists
C reduce the cost of publication substantially
D free universities from financial burdens
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Paragraph 5 and 6和open access terms可定位至第五段第三句。句中冒号后面的句子是对前面内容的进一步解释说明，对答题尤为重要。该句指出，英国超过一半的科研成果是通过开放获取方式发表的：要么是自发表之日起就可以免费获取，要么是付费一年或更长时间也可以获取，这样的话，出版商就可以在文章正式发表之前获得利润。由此可知，开放获取方式使出版商有赚取利润的空间。选项A中的make money是对文中make a profit的同义替换，因此A项正确。
错项排除：文中只是说半数以上的研究成果是通过开放获取方式发表的，并未表明这一方式使科学研究成果的发表变得更容易，故B项排除。文章最后一段说到，去年的一项报告指出，成本在以高于通货膨胀率的速度稳步上升，C项“成本下降”与此不符，故排除。文中说到大学每年要支付订阅费用，但没有内容表明开放获取方式可以使大学摆脱财政负担，故D项排除。
10、30. Which of the following characterises the scientific publishing model?
A Trial subscription is offered.
B Labour triumphs over status.
C Costs are well controlled.
D The few feed on the many.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题文同序原则，可定位至最后一段。该段第一句指出，在某些方面，科学类刊物出版业类似于社交网络经济：为了获取社会地位而免费提供劳动力，结果只是让少数几家控制市场的大公司获利。通俗来讲，就是多数人养活了少数人，因此D项正确。
错项排除：文中多次提及subscription，但未提到Trial subscription（试用订阅）的相关内容，故A项排除。定位句指出，免费提供劳动力是为了换取地位，B项与此不符，故排除。第六段最后讲到，成本的增长率超过了通货膨胀率，C项表述与此相悖，故排除。
长难句分析：In some ways the scientific publishing model resembles the economy of the social internet: labour is provided free in exchange for the hope of status, while huge profits are made by a few big firms who run the market places.
本句为复合句。主句为冒号之前的部分，主句的主语为the scientific publishing model，谓语为resembles，宾语为the economy of the social internet。句子开头的In some ways作主句的状语。冒号后面的部分是对主句的解释说明，共包含两个分句，由while连接，表示对比关系。
句意为：从某些方面来说，科学类刊物的出版模式类似于社交网络经济：免费提供劳动力是希望换取社会地位，但巨额利润却被少数几家操纵市场的大公司赚取。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Progressives often support diversity mandates as a path to equality and a way to level the playing field. But all too often such policies are an insincere form of virtue-signaling that benefits only the most privileged and does little to help average people.
A pair of bills sponsored by Massachusetts state Senator Jason Lewis and House Speaker Pro Tempore Particia Haddad, to ensure “gender parity on boards and commissions, provide a case in point.
Haddad and Lewis are concerned that more than half the state-government boards are less than 40 percent female. In order to ensure that elite women have more such opportunities, they have proposed imposing government quotas. If the bills become law, state boards and commissions will be required to set aside 50 percent of board seats for women by 2022.
The bills are similar to a measure recently adopted in California, which last year became the first state to require gender quotas for private companies. In signing the measure, California Governor Jerry Brown admitted that the law, which expressly classifies people on the basis of sex, is probably unconstitutional.
The US Supreme Court frowns on sex-based classifications unless they are designed to address an “important” policy interest. Because the California law applies to all boards, even where there is no history of prior discrimination, courts are likely to rule that the law violates the constitutional guarantee of “equal protection”.
But are such government mandates even necessary? Female participation on corporate boards may not currently mirror the percentage of women in the general population, but so what?
The number of women on corporate boards has been steadily increasing without government interference. According to a study by Catalyst, between 2010 and 2015 the share of women on the boards of global corporations increased by 54 percent.
Requiring companies to make gender the primary qualification for board membership will inevitably lead to less experienced private sector boards. That is exactly what happened when Norway adopted a nationwide corporate gender quota.
Writing in The New Republic, Alice Lee notes that increasing the number of opportunities for board membership without increasing the pool of qualified women to serve on such boards has led to a “golden skirt” phenomenon, where the same elite women scoop up multiple seats on a variety of boards.
Next time somebody pushes corporate quotas as a way to promote gender equity, remember that such policies are largely self-serving measures that make their sponsors feel good but do little to help average women.
11、31. The author believes that the bills sponsored by Lewis and Haddad will ________.
A help little to reduce gender bias
B pose a threat to the state government
C raise women’s position in politics
D greatly broaden career options
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的the bills sponsored by Lewis and Haddad可定位至原文第二段第一句。该句指出，刘易斯和哈达德所倡议的法案是为了保证董事会和委员会中的“性别平等”，而题目问的是作者对这项法案的看法。在文章第一段，作者明确提出了一个观点，即多样性授权只对最有特权的人有利，对普通人则没有什么帮助。接着在第二段中就给出了法案的例子，并在段末明确指出，这项法案provide a case in point，也就是说举法案之例说明了作者第一段提出的观点（授权政策对于其初衷的实现几乎没有帮助），而法案本身对其想要保证“性别平等”的初衷也无甚帮助，因此A项正确。
错项排除：文章第三段中提到state-government，但原文说的是刘易斯和哈达德担心州政府委员会中女性比例不足40%，法案如果通过，州委员会将要为女性预留50%的席位，并未说明这会对州政府产生影响或威胁，B项属于过度推断，故排除。文章说法案的目的是保证董事会和委员会中的“性别平等”，并没有说它将提升女性的政治地位，故C项排除。D项的career options过于宽泛，不能替代文中的board seats，故D项排除。
12、32. Which of the following is true of the California measure?
A It has irritated private business owners.
B It is welcomed by the Supreme Court.
C It may go against the Constitution.
D It will settle the prior controversies.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的California measure可定位至原文第四段第一句。第四段主要讲加利福尼亚州所采取的一项措施，要求私企实行性别配额制。本段最后说到，州长承认该法规以性别区分人群这一点可能违反了宪法，因此C项正确。constitution表示“宪法”，加了否定前缀un-和形容词后缀-al后为unconstitutional，表示“违反宪法的”。
错项排除：从文章可知，加利福尼亚州采取的这项措施是针对私营企业的，但文中并未提到这项措施激怒了私营企业主，故A项排除。文章第五段第一句说美国最高法院对于以性别为基础的分类是不认同的，B项内容与此相悖，故排除。D项利用原文词prior controversies设置干扰，但文中说的是prior discrimination（之前的歧视），在文中指的是之前不存在性别歧视的企业，D项内容与此不符，故排除。
13、33. The author mentions the study by Catalyst to illustrate ________.
A the harm from arbitrary board decision
B the importance of constitutional guarantees
C the pressure on women in global corporations
D the needlessness of government interventions
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为例证题。根据题干中的the study by Catalyst可定位至第七段第二句。第七段第一句说到，在没有政府干预的情况下，企业董事会中女性的数量也在稳定增长，这是针对第六段中But are such government mandates even necessary的回应，也就是对政府干预的必要性提出质疑。接着第七段第二句提到Catalyst的一项研究，该研究表明，2010到2015年间，全球企业董事会中女性占比增长了54%，以数据证实了第一句中所说的情况。由此可知，作者提到这项研究是为了论证之前的观点，即政府干预是没有必要的，因此选D。
错项排除：A项中的arbitrary board decision在文中无相关描述，故A项排除。B项利用原文词constitutional guarantees设置干扰，但文中第五段说的是宪法保障的“平等保护”条款，而Catalyst的研究与它没有直接关系，故B项排除。文中Catalyst的研究说的是女性在全球企业董事会的人数占比增加，并没有提到女性在全球企业中的压力问题，故C项排除。
14、34. Norway’s adoption of a nationwide corporate gender quota has led to ________.
A the underestimation of elite women’s role
B the objection to female participation on boards
C the entry of unqualified candidates into the board
D the growing tension between labor and management
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Norway’s adoption of a nationwide corporate gender quota可定位至第八段最后一句。第八段开始指出，要求公司把性别作为董事会任职资格的主要考虑因素，将不可避免地导致一些经验不足的私营部门董事会出现，接着定位句说到，挪威在全国范围内采取了企业性别配额措施后，这种情况就发生了。由此可以得出，这一情况导致董事会中出现了一些不合格的成员，C项中的unqualified对应原文中的less experienced，因此选C。
错项排除：原文第九段最后一句中出现elite women，说的是“金裙子”（golden skirt）现象，即同一位精英女性会占据不同董事会的多个席位，A项表述与此相反，故排除。文章虽然一直在讨论女性进入董事会的性别配额制，但是并没有涉及反对女性进入董事会的相关内容，故B项排除。D项内容没有原文依据，故排除。
15、35. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
A Women’s need in employment should be considered.
B Feasibility should be a prime concern in policymaking.
C Everyone should try hard to promote social justice.
D Major social issues should be the focus of legislation.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为推断题。由于没有明确的定位词，无法定位到具体某段，因此需要整体把握文章大意。文章第一段提出观点，虽然多样性授权受到进步人士的支持，但它通常很难实现他们所主张的平等，对普通人的帮助也不大。接着以性别配额制为例，从不同方面说明这种政府授权是没有必要的，甚至会造成一些不好的影响，最后重申第一段提出的观点。通篇看来，文章里诸多举例论证都是为了说明一个观点：有些政策华而不实，根本无法实现其目的，换句话说，政策的制定应该考虑其本身的可行性，因此选B。
错项排除：文章用很大篇幅讨论性别配额制中的女性等相关内容，但并没有涉及具体的女性工作需求，故A项排除。文章第一段提到平等和公平竞争，但并没有提及“每个人”应该怎么做，故C项排除。D项本身没错，但文中主要讨论的是某些政策的出发点是好的，但却无法真正实现，D项偏离了这一主题，故排除。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Last Thursday, the French Senate passed a digital services tax, which would impose an entirely new tax on large multinationals that provide digital services to consumers or users in France. Digital services include everything from providing a platform for selling goods and services online to targeting advertising based on user data, and the tax applies to gross revenue from such services. Many French politicians and media outlets have referred to this as a “GAFA tax”, meaning that it is designed to apply primarily to companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon—in other words, multinational tech companies based in the United States.
The digital services tax now awaits the signature of President Emmanuel Macron, who has expressed support for the measure, and it could go into effect within the next few weeks. But it has already sparked significant controversy, with the United States trade representative opening an investigation into whether the tax discriminates against American companies, which in turn could lead to trade sanctions against France.
The French tax is not just a unilateral move by one country in need of revenue. Instead, the digital services tax is part of a much larger trend, with countries over the past few years proposing or putting in place an alphabet soup of new international tax provisions. These have included Britain’s DPT (diverted profits tax), Australia’s MAAL (multinational anti-avoidance law), and India’s SEP (significant economic presence) test, to name but a few. At the same time, the European Union, Spain, Britain and several other countries have all seriously contemplated digital services taxes.
These unilateral developments differ in their specifics, but they are all designed to tax multinationals on income and revenue that countries believe they should have a right to tax, even if international tax rules do not grant them that right. In other words, they all share a view that the international tax system has failed to keep up with the current economy.
In response to these many unilateral measures, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is currently working with 131 countries to reach a consensus by the end of 2020 on an international solution. Both France and the United States are involved in the organization’s work, but France’s digital services tax and the American response raise questions about what the future holds for the international tax system.
France’s planned tax is a clear warning: Unless a broad consensus can be reached on reforming the international tax system, other nations are likely to follow suit, and American companies will face a cascade of different taxes from dozens of nations that will prove burdensome and costly.
16、36. The French Senate has passed a bill to ________.
A regulate digital services platforms
B protect French companies interests
C impose a levy on tech multinationals
D curb the influence of advertising
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的The French Senate可定位至原文第一段第一句。该句指出，法国参议院在上周四通过了一项数字服务税，征收对象主要是大型跨国公司。在第一段最后，特别表明这些公司主要是指总部设在美国的跨国科技公司。C项中的impose是文中原词，levy是对文中tax的同义替换，tech multinationals是对文中large multinationals和multinational tech companies的同义替换，因此选C。
错项排除：A项利用文中出现的digital services和 platform设置干扰，但文章中说的是数字服务包括出售商品和服务的平台，并未说这项议案是要规范数字服务平台，故A项排除。文中明确说到，这项税收是针对提供数字服务的跨国公司，并未涉及对法国本土企业的描述，故B项排除。D项利用原文词advertising进行干扰，但文中出现advertising的地方依然是在说数字服务所包括的内容，并非是要表达这项税收议案的目的是抑制广告的影响，故D项排除。
17、37. It can be learned from Paragraph 2 that the digital services tax ________.
A may trigger countermeasures against France
B is apt to arouse criticism at home and abroad
C aims to ease international trade tensions
D will prompt the tech giants to quit France
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Paragraph 2可定位至原文第二段。第二段主要讲这项数字服务税提案正在等待法国总统签字，但是它已经引起了巨大争议。本段最后一句说到，这可能导致美国对法国启动贸易制裁，A项中的countermeasures是对文中trade sanctions的同义转述，因此选A。
错项排除：文章指出，这项税收引发了significant controversy（巨大争议），但并未表明是否会引起国内外的批评，故B项排除。从文中可知，这项税收可能造成美法之间关系紧张，C项与此内容相悖，故排除。文中只是说美国贸易代表将会就这项税收是否有意针对美国公司而展开调查，但并没有说会放弃法国市场，D项属于过度推断，故排除。
长难句分析：But it has already sparked significant controversy, with the United States trade representative opening an investigation into whether the tax discriminates against American companies, which in turn could lead to trade sanctions against France.
本句为复合句。句子主干为it has already sparked significant controversy，属于主谓宾结构。with短语作伴随状语，其中又包含了whether引导的宾语从句，作into的宾语。which引导的是非限制性定语从句，对整句话进行补充说明。
句意为：但它已经引起了巨大争议，美国贸易代表已经开始调查该税收是否有意针对美国，这进而可能会导致美国对法国进行贸易制裁。
18、38. The countries adopting the unilateral measures share the opinion that ________.
A redistribution of tech giants’ revenue must be ensured
B the current international tax system needs upgrading
C tech multinationals’ monopoly should be prevented
D all countries ought to enjoy equal taxing rights
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的unilateral measures和share the opinion可定位至第四段。该段开头说到，这些单边措施的具体细节不同，但都是针对跨国公司的收入征税，即使国际税收系统没有授权，这些国家也认为他们有权征税。该段最后一句明确指出，这些国家一致认为，国际税收系统没有跟上现代经济的发展，也就是说，国际税收体系需要进行升级。题干中的share the opinion是对文中share a view的同义替换，选项B中的needs upgrading对应文中的has failed to keep up with the current economy，因此选B。
错项排除：文章中说采取单边措施的国家都认为他们有权对跨国公司征税，但这并不是要确保对科技巨头的收益进行重新分配，故A项排除。虽然文中提到了unilateral（单边的），但只是说这些国家单方面要求征税，并不是要打破跨国公司的垄断，因此C项中的monopoly无原文依据，故排除。D项利用taxing rights进行干扰，但文中说的是他们认为他们有征税的权利，并没有涉及平等，故D项排除。
长难句分析：These unilateral developments differ in their specifics, but they are all designed to tax multinationals on income and revenue that countries believe they should have a right to tax, even if international tax rules do not grant them that right.
本句为but连接的两个并列分句。but之前的分句的主语是These unilateral developments，谓语是differ，in their specifics作状语表示“在细节上（不同）”。but之后的分句的主语是they，are designed为谓语，be designed to表示“目的是，旨在……”，不定式短语to tax multinationals on income and revenue作目的状语。后面是that引导的定语从句，修饰先行词income and revenue。believe之后是一个宾语从句，在句子末尾是一个even if引导的让步状语从句。
句意为：这些单边措施的具体细节虽然不同，但目的都在于对跨国公司的收入征税。这些国家认为，即使国际税收规则并没有相关授权，他们也有权征收此税。
19、39. It can be learned from Paragraph 5 that the OECD’s current work ________.
A is being resisted by US companies
B needs to be readjusted immediately
C is faced with uncertain prospects
D needs to involve more countries
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为细节题。根据题干中的Paragraph 5和OECD’s current work可定位至第五段。第五段开头指出，针对这些单边措施，经济合作与发展组织目前的工作主要是在2020年年底之前与131个国家就国际解决方案达成共识。接着又说到，美国和法国也参与了这项工作，但法国的数字服务税和美国的回应使人们对国际税收体系的未来产生了疑虑。也就是说，经济合作与发展组织目前的这项工作未来会怎样还不确定，C项中的uncertain对应原文中的raise questions，prospects对应原文中的what the future holds，因此选C。
错项排除：文中说到美国对法国数字税作出对抗性的回应，而不是抵制OECD目前的工作，A项属于张冠李戴，故排除。文中说了目前这项工作的前景不是很乐观，但并没说这项工作需要立刻进行调整，故B项排除。文中说到这项工作有131个国家参与，但并没有说需要更多国家参与，故D项排除。
20、40. Which of the following might be the best title for this text?
A France Is Confronted with Trade Sanctions
B France Leads the Charge on Digital Tax
C France Says “NO” to Tech Multinationals
D France Demands a Role in the Digital Economy
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为主旨大意题，题干要求选出最适合文章的题目。对于此类问题，需要整体把握文章大意。文章第一段提到，法国的数字税，接着对其征收对象和可能引发的问题进行描述，后面又举了其他几个国家的例子来介绍这一税收产生的背景，并指出国际税收体系没有跟上当代经济发展的趋势。最后文章呼吁国际税收体系的改革应该建立在广泛共识的基础上，否则就会出现其他国家效仿法国的情况。由此可知，文章通篇都在围绕法国的数字税进行论述，只有B项最贴合这一主题，因此选B。
错项排除：A项只是法国数字税可能会引发的问题之一，属于文中细节但不足以概括全文，故排除。文章提到法国主要针对跨国科技公司征收数字税，而C项的“法国对跨国科技公司说‘不’”，话题过于宽泛、没有针对性，故排除。D项的Demands a Role没有原文依据，故排除。
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