阅读理解。
Stop Spam
When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends,
and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisements
and other correspondence that do not interest me at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need
specific laws that make spamming (发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse.
Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and
more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual (个人的) e-mail boxes are often flooded with
spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each
time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam e-mails contain computer
viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to
communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and
their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity
and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs
of companies, which are, in the end, passes on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be
fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over
the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.
1. What does the underlined word "correspondence" in the Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. messages
B. ideas
C. connections
D. programs
2. According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?
A. Companies rely on e-mail for communications.
B. More people in the world communicate by e-mail.
C. Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail.
D. More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam.
3. According to Paragraph 3, who is the final victim of spam?
A. The business
B. The advertiser
C. The employee
D. The consumer
4. What is the purpose of the text?
A. To inform
B. To educate
C. To persuade
D. To instruct
