阅读理解。
New media has been growing fast and influencing people's lives in ways few things have done before
In 2010, China's new media industry witnessed explosive development. But with "new" comes uncertainties
and challenges. The following are brief reviews on the development of China's new media and outlooks on
its future.
Micro-blogging (微博)
Short and convenient, micro-blogs also experienced "a big bang" in China last year, with the number of
micro-bloggers at China's popular portal (门户网站) sina.com.cn almost doubling in less than six months.
Afterwards, the other three major web portals, including sohu.com.qq. corn and 163. corn, each set up their
own micro-blogging services. With more government officials and entities (实体) registering, China's micro-
blogging services are expected to play a more important role in connecting the public and the governments in
2011.
Search Engines
Baidu's position in the search engine market would face fierce challenges from sohu.com, Microsoft's Bing
and goso.cn from the People's Daily. Xinhua is also preparing to start its search engine together with China
Mobile, a leading company in mobile networks. Goso and Xinhua both have the advantage of providing content,
while Bing has a big edge in technology and funds. They are expected to pose threats (威胁) to Baidu in 2011.
Internet of Things
IoT refers to a network of real-world objects linked by the Internet and interacting through on-line services.
China set up its first IoT research center in Shanghai in March 2010. Within the same week, Premier Wen
Jiabao stated in the annual government report that it would "accelerate the research and development, as well
as application of the Internet of Things."
However, some experts say China's IoT is still in an early stage, and it'll take a long time for it to let the
public enjoy its full functions.
1. What is the text mainly about?
A. Some major media in China.
B. China's new media and its future.
C. The development of China's on-line services.
D. China's early-stage IoT and its major functions.
2. How many web portals are mentioned in Paragraph 2?
A. Two.
B. Three.
C. Four.
D. Five.
3. Which of the following will be Xinhua's partner to start a search engine?
A. Baidu.
B. Sohu.com.
C. Goso.cn.
D. China Mobile.
4. What does the underlined part "a big bang" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. A deafening sound.
B. An explosive development
C. A terrible damage.
D. A demanding challenge.
