学进去

Big data (数 据) is a lot of sets of information that are put together so they can be used by a computer program. The computer program looks for different kinds of patterns in the data. Big data includes information collected from many sources (来源), such as information from schools, social media site, companies and governments. One set of data may include people’s names and addresses. Another set can have what they like, where they go to school, and how much time they spend on the computer.

Big data can be used in many ways. The government uses it to understand how many people travel on buses or trains. This information is then used to make bus or train systems better. Some schools use big data to understand which children may need extra help in class. The teacher can then give certain students more help or support so they can succeed in school. Companies use big data, too. It helps them understand who buys their products. For example, one company uses weather data to see when people eat the most ice cream.

Big data can be used for good reasons. Some hospitals use big data to predict (预测) if a baby who is born too early will get sick. The hospital can then take extra steps to take care of that baby so he or she does not get sick. Big data can also be used for bad reasons. It can be used to predict which kinds of people are likely to break the law or hurt others, even if they have not done anything wrong yet.

How can big data be used both for good and bad things? It is because the computer programs are written by people. How people think will decide how they use the date. People think in a certain way and they build models based on their ideas. These models will decide how computer programs look at the data. Good ideas are helpful for people and businesses while bad ideas can cause problems for certain groups of people.

1．What kind of information may be included in big data?
① people’s names       ② people’s addresses       ③ people’s hobbies
④ people’s schools             ⑤ people’s shopping habits       ⑥ people’s travelling habits

A．①②③

B．①②③④

C．①②③⑤⑥

D．①②③④⑤⑥

2．How does the writer show his ideas in Paragraph 2?

A．By showing numbers.	B．By giving examples.
C．By telling stories.	D．By making comparisons.

3．What does the underlined “they” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Students at school	B．Students who need more help than others
C．Teachers who give support to students	D．Children who succeed in school

4．Why can big data be used for both good and bad reasons?

A．Because big data can help take care of babies as well as predict who is going to hurt others.

B．Because some programs are good for people while some are bad.

C．Because the information included in big data comes from different places.

D．Because the people who write computer programs have different ways of thinking.

5．What is the best title for the passage?

A．Big data, good or bad?	B．Facts about big data
C．Big data—best helper	D．People behind big data