2021年考研《英语二》真题（5）

2021年考研《英语二》真题（5）

When Microsoft bought task management app.Wunerlist and mobile calendar Sunrise in 2015,it picked up two newcomers that were attracting considerable buzz in Silicon Valley.Microsoft'own Office dominates the market for"productivity"software,but the start-ups represented a new wave of technology designed from the ground up for the smartphone world.

Both apps,however,were later scrapped,after Microsoft said it had used their best features in its own products.Their teams of engineers stayed on,making them two of the many"acqui-hires"that the biggest companies have used to feed their insatiable hunger for tech talent.

To Microsoft's critics,the fates of Wunderlist and Sunrise are examples of a remorseless drive by Big Tech to chew up any innovative companies that lie in their path."They bought the seedlings and closed them down,"complained Paul Amold,a partner at San Francisco-based Switch Ventures,putting paid to businesses that might one day tum into competitors.Microsoft declined to comment.

Like other start-up investors,Mr Amold's own business often depends on selling start-ups to larger tech companies,though he admits to mixed feelings about the result:"I think these things are good for me,if I put my selfish hat on.But are they good for the American economy?I don't know."

The US Federal Trade Commission says it wants to find the answer to that question.This week,it asked the five most valuable US tech companies for information about their many small acquisitions over the past decade.Although only a research project at this stage,the request has raised the prospect of regulators wading into early-stage tech markets that until now have been beyond their reach.

Given their combined market value of more than$5.5tm,rifling through such small deals-many of them much less prominent than Wunderlist and Sunrise-might seem beside the point.Between them,the five companies(Apple,Microsoft,Google,Amazon and Facebook)have spent an average of only$3.4 billion a year on sub-$1 billion acquisitions over the past five years-a drop in the ocean compared with their massive financial reserves,and the more than$130 billion of venture capital that was invested in the US last year.

However,critics say the big companies use such deals to buy their most threatening potential competitors before their businesses have a chance to gain momentum,in some cases as part of a“buy and kill”tactic to simply close them down.

31.What is true about Wunderlist and Sunrise after their acquisitions?

A.Their engineers were retained.

B.Their market values declined.

C.Their tech features improved.

D.Their products were re-priced.

32.Microsoft's critics believe that the big tech companies tend to_____.

A.exaggerate their product quality

B.eliminate their potential competitors

C.treat new tech talent unfairly

D.ignore public opinions

33.Paul Arnold is concerned that small acquisitions might_____.

A.weaken big tech companies

B.worsen market competition

C.harm the national economy

D.discourage start-up investors

34.The US Federal Trade Commission intend to____.

A.examine small acquisitions

B.limit Big Tech's expansion

C.supervise start-ups operations

D.encourage research collaboration

35.For the five biggest tech companies,their small acquisition have____.

A.brought little financial pressure

B.raised few management challenges

C.set an example for future deals

D.generate considerable profits

考研英语词汇记忆——抓好动词、介词以及各种短语和搭配

我们知道,在英语中句子的核心是动词,同在句了中的搭配最为灵活,比如,它可以与许多介词搭配构成各种各样的动词短语,而且这些短语大都是固定的因此抓住动词、介词以及各种知语和搭配就变得相当关键了,这对于听力、英语知识运用、阅读理解、英译汉和短文写作都至关重要。