山西省2017高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（12）_高考复习指南

山西省2017高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（12）

　　阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

　　In the computer age, most of us take a broadband Internet connection for granted． Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days． Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download much faster than ten years ago． And the files are much bigger too．

　　There’s a catch, of course． You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet． If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you． And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all．

　　Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations． In cities and suburbs, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone． It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries． Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely（稀疏地） populated areas． The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense．

　　But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users． Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere． Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines． Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables（光纤电缆） promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users．