四、閱讀測驗
Millions of people send e-mails with Gmail, connect with friends via Google+, or search for a destination on
Google Maps. While these services offer many noticeable benefits, some are worried that Google may be learning
too much about its users. People are so used to a multitude of advertisements online that they don’t pay much
attention to what they contain. An inspection of the ones on Google’s sites, however, will show that they are closely
related to a person’s most recent Web searches or topics from his or her emails. This is possible through Google’s
new consolidation of cookies, which began in 2012. Basically, Google uses the same cookies to follow users
throughout their online journeys and keep records of everything they do. This information is then shared with
third-party Web sites that bombard users with ads that appear tailor-made for them. Internet policy-makers in
France, the US, and Japan have expressed concerns about the practice and are researching the effects this could
have on people’s privacy.
As if scanning your e-mails to aggregate data for advertisers wasn’t bad enough, Google also wants to know
your real name. When signing up for a Google account previously, users could input any name they wanted. Now,
Google requires that a real name be kept on file or one’s account will be suspended. Critics argue that there is no
legitimate reason for Google to need this information. At the moment, opponents are trying to have the new
requirement voided but haven’t had luck so far.
【題組】46. Which of the following is the main idea of the above passage?
(A) Google knows too much about its users.
(B) Google makes life easier and more convenient.
(C) Google is strong in its research and development.
(D) Google should give more back to the society.