It’s nothing new that you can find many files or services you can download or use from the Internet. The question is: Is downloading legal or not? In most cases the answer is negative, because sharing and downloading are illegal. Of course, you can find files for legal downloading, but you have to pay for them.
It seems innocent if you click on the download mark, but it isn’t. It should be compared with stealing in a store. Would you steal a magazine, an MP3player or a car? Downloading from the Internet is a theft, and sharing files, once you have stolen them, only makes it wore. For example, if everybody only downloaded, movies wouldn’t make money and the studios wouldn’t invest millions of dollars to make new ones.
Many people may think it better, easier and cheaper to do downloading. I think, that is the main reason why Internet users prefer sharing something to buying them. In the modern world we love convenience and what could be more convenient than getting music, films and games without having to leave your house? You don’t need to pay for what you get, there is no registration, and you don’t have to wait until shops open or the CD/DVD you want is posted to you. However, you could be in big trouble if you are caught. You could go to prison as a result of acting unlawfully, but so far only a tiny amount of people have been charged for downloading illegally. The majority of people who download illegally, and use the files for their personal use, will not get in trouble. And that's why it’s important for people to understand what the long-term consequences are if they don’t want to pay for their music, films and TV. Will film and music companies still spend millions of pounds every year if they have no chance of making a profit? The answer is plainly “no”.
Finally I would like to say that the Internet offers a lot of services for money, but people will always try to get them for free. To summarize my thoughts, I’d like to highlight that illegal downloading is both unfair towards producers and dangerous for those who practice this kind of activity. You have to decide whether to buy or download.
【小题1】Many people download files free from the Internet because ________.| A．they follow others’ examples to do such things |
| B．they don’t think they may be charged by the producer |
| C．they think everything on the Net can be shared by others |
| D．they think it is legal, convenient and easy |
| A．Downloading helps movies become more popular. |
| B．Downloading free files is as illegal as stealing. |
| C．Sharing files on the Internet is dangerous. |
| D．Sharing files on the Internet can make a profit. |
| A．Stress. | B．Explain. | C．Admit. | D．Deny. |
| A．He advises readers to download legal files. |
| B．He asks readers to limit the amount of free downloading. |
| C．He wants to make it clear that downloading for free is against the law. |
| D．He tells readers how to avoid being charged for downloading. |
