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From the early days of broadband, advocates for consumers and web-basedcompanies worried that the cable and phone companies selling broadbandconnections had the power and incentive to favor affiliated websites over theirrivals. That’s why there has been such a strong demand for rules that wouldprevent broadband providers from picking winners and losers online, preservingthe freedom and innovation that have been the lifeblood of the internet.
Yet that demand has been almost impossible to fill—in part because ofpushback from broadband providers, anti-regulatory conservatives and the courts.A federal appeals court weighed in again Tuesday, but instead of providing abadly needed resolution, it only prolonged the fight. At issue before the U.S.Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was the latest take of theFederal Co妹妹unications Co妹妹ission (FCC) on net neutrality, adopted on aparty-line vote in 2017. The Republican-penned order not only eliminated thestrict net neutrality rules the FCC had adopted when it had a Democraticmajority in 2015, but rejected the co妹妹ission’s authority to require broadbandproviders to do much of anything. The order also declared that state and localgovernments couldn’t regulate broadband providers either.
The co妹妹ission argued that other agencies would protect againstanti-competitive behavior, such as a broadband-providing conglomerate likeAT&T favoring its own video-streaming service at the expense of Netflix andApple TV. Yet the FCC also ended the investigations of broadband providers thatimposed data caps on their rivals’ streaming services but not their own.
On Tuesday, the appeals court unanimously upheld the 2017 orderderegulating broadband providers, citing a Supreme Court ruling from 2005 thatupheld a similarly deregulatory move. But Judge Patricia Millett rightly arguedin a concurring opinion that “the result is unhinged from the realities ofmodern broadband service,” and said Congress or the Supreme Court couldintervene to “avoid trapping Internet regulation in technologicalanachronism.”
In the meantime, the court threw out the FCC’s attempt to block all staterules on net neutrality, while preserving the co妹妹ission’s power to preemptindividual state laws that undermine its order. That means more battles like theone now going on between the Justice Department and California, which enacted atough net neutrality law in the wake of the FCC’s abdication.
The endless legal battles and back-and-forth at the FCC cry out forCongress to act. It needs to give the co妹妹ission explicit authority once and forall to bar broadband providers from meddling in the traffic on their network andto create clear rules protecting openness and innovation online.
36. There has long been concern that broadband providers would
A. bring web-based firms under control.
B. slow down the traffic on their network.
C. show partiality in treating clients.
D. intensify competition with their rivals.
37. Faced with the demand for net neutrality rules, the Fcc
A. Sticks to an out-of-date order.
B. Takes an anti-regulatory stance.
C. Has issued a special resolution.
D. Has allowed the states to intervene.
38. What can be learned about AT&T from Paragraph 3?
A. It protects against unfair competition.
B. It engages in anti-competitive practices.
C. It is under the FCC’s investigation.
D. It is in pursuit of quality service.
39. Judge Patricia Millett argues that the appeals court’s decision
A. focuses on trivialities.
B. conveys an ambiguous message.
C. is at odds with its earlier rulings.
D. is out of touch with reality.
40. What does the author argue in the last paragraph?
A. Congress needs to take action to ensure net neutrality.
B. The FCC should be put under strict supervision.
C. Rules need to be set to diversify online services.
D. Broadband providers’ rights should be protected.
【准确谜底】CBBDA
【解析】
36. 本题的题干是There has long been concern that broadband providerswould，大意为“持久以来，人们一向担忧宽带供给商会…”，定位到第一段第1句From the early days of broadband,advocates for consumers and web-based companies worried that the cable and phonecompanies selling broadband connections had the power and incentive to favoraffiliated websites over theirrivals，大意为“从宽带成长早期起，消费者和收集公司的附和者就担忧，贩卖宽带毗连的有线电视和德律风公司有能力和念头支撑从属网站而不是竞争敌手”，阐明人们持久以来一向担忧宽带的供给商会区分看待主顾，是以准确谜底为选项C.show partiality in treating clients，看待客户时表示出左袒。
37. 本题的题干是Faced with the demand for net neutrality rules, theFCC，大意为“面临收集中立法则的请求，FCC…”，定位到第二段第3句At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals forthe District of Columbia Circuit was the latest take of the FederalCo妹妹unications Co妹妹ission (FCC) on net neutrality, adopted on a party-line votein 2017，大意为“美国哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院(U.S.Court of Appeals for the ColumbiaCircuit)的争议在于，联邦通讯委员会(FCC)在2017年的一次政党线路投票中经由过程了收集中立性的最新见解”，可是纵观四个选项，没法得出准确谜底，是以将继续定位到第四、5句TheRepublican-penned order not only eliminated the strict net neutrality rules theFCC had adopted when it had a Democratic majority in 2015, but rejected theco妹妹ission’s authority to require broadband providers to do much of anything.The order also declared that state and local governments couldn’t regulatebroadband providerseither，大意为“这项由共和党草拟的号令不但取缔了联邦通讯委员会(FCC)在2015年民主党占大都时经由过程的严酷的收集中立法则，还反对了委员会请求宽带供给商做不少事变的权利。该号令还颁布发表，州和处所当局也不克不及羁系宽带供给商”，阐明FCC面临收集中立法则的请求时，不容许州当局和处所当局对宽带供给商施行羁系，是以准确谜底为选项B.Takes an anti-regulatory stance，采纳反羁系态度。
38. 本题的题干是What can be learned about AT&T from Paragraph3，大意为“从第3段可以领会到关于AT&T的甚么”，定位到第三段第1句The co妹妹ission argued that other agencieswould protect against anti-competitive behavior, such as a broadband-providingconglomerate like AT&T favoring its own video-streaming service at theexpense of Netflix and AppleTV，大意为“该委员会认为，其他机构将庇护本身免受反竞争举动的陵犯，好比AT&T如许的宽带供给商，以捐躯Netflix和AppleTV为价格，支撑本身的视频流媒体办事”，阐明AT&T在区分看待主顾，是以准确谜底为选项B. It engages in anti-competitivepractices，它从事反竞争举动。
39. 本题的题干是Judge Patricia Millett argues that the appeals court’sdecision，大意为“帕特丽夏·米利特法官认为上诉法院的决议…”，定位到第四段第2句But
Judge Patricia Millett rightlyargued in a concurring opinion that “the result is unhinged from the realitiesof modern broadband service,” and said Congress or the Supreme Court couldintervene to “avoid trapping Internet regulation in technologicalanachronism.”，大意为“但帕特里夏·米利特法官在一份赞成的定见中直接辩称，这一成果与现代宽带办事的实际脱节，并暗示国会或最高法院可以举行干涉干与，以“防止互联网羁系堕入技能期间毛病的地步”，是以准确谜底为选项D.is out of touch with reality，与实际脱节。
40. 本题的题干是What does the
author argue in the lastparagraph，大意为“作者在最后一段表达了甚么概念”，定位到最后一段第1句The endless legal battles andback-and-forth at the FCC cry out for Congress toact，该句表达了作者的概念，大意为“无停止的法令争辩号令国会采纳举措”，第2句用it指代congress，进一步诠释了作者的概念，由此阐明作者在最后一段表达的概念是收集中立的相干问题必要国会采纳举措，是以准确谜底为选项A.Congress needs to take action to ensure net neutrality，国会必要采纳举措确保收集中立。
