“对不起我是机器人”

所属教程:金融时报原文阅读

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2020年08月16日

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“对不起我是机器人”

不久前刚刚高调回归宣布安全升级大换血的婚外情网站Ashley Madison近日又被美国FTC盯上。而原因恐怕要让很多付费男性用户失望了——因为和你聊得热火朝天的不是想要猎艳的女性，而是…公司的女性机器人。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

FTC 联邦贸易委员会（Federal Trade Commission）

deploy 配置；展开[dɪ'plɒɪ]

open-minded 虚心的；思想开明的

acquisition 获得；收购[,ækwɪ'zɪʃ(ə)n]

trove 被发现的东西；收藏的东西[trəʊv]

阅读马上开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间，对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。

如果您读完全文用时为：那么，您的阅读速度相当于每分钟阅读的英文单词数

4分32秒母语为英语者的朗读速度 140

2分13秒母语为英语的中学生的阅读速度 250

1分0秒母语为英语的大学生的阅读速度 350

0分3秒母语为英语的速读高手 1000

Ashley Madison faces FTC fembots probe（633 words）

By Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco

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Ashley Madison, the adultery website that was hacked last year, is under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission for its use of bots to chat with paying male customers, the company said.

The dating website was attacked by cybercriminals last summer, exposing the identities of its would-be adulterer subscribers and internal documents that appeared to show that it used so-called fembots so that men would believe they were engaging with real women willing to have an affair.

Avid Life Media, which owns Ashley Madison and other dating sites including Cougar Life and Established Men, has appointed a new chief executive, Rob Segal, to attempt a fresh start at the company.

Mr Segal, the former chief executive of World Gaming, told Reuters that the FTC had been investigating its use of bots, and a spokesperson confirmed the company had been “proactively sharing information with regulatory authorities” since August 2015. The FTC did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr Segal said bots, thought to have been deployed because there were far more men than women on the site, were no longer used. James Millership, newly appointed as president at Ashley Madison after working under Mr Segal at WorldGaming, added: “My understanding is that bots are widespread in the industry, but they are no longer being used, and will not be used, at Avid Life Media and Ashley Madison.”

Ashley Madison, which used to advertise itself with the tagline “Life is short. Have an affair” is trying to reposition itself as the dating website for the “open-minded” and people with an “adventurous spirit”, rather than strictly those looking for extramarital affairs. It is looking at acquisitions, partnerships and a total rebranding, Mr Millership said.

The company’s chief executive, Noel Biderman, stepped down “by mutual agreement” in August last year after details of up to 37m members were posted online by a hacker group calling itself The Impact Team. The fallout included at least one lawsuit and an investigation by the police in Toronto, where the company is based, into possible suicides connected to the breach.

The trove of data dumped online also made many question its business model after tech site Gizmodo concluded it was likely that only about 12,000 of the 37m members were women.

Mr Segal said Avid Life Media had been silenced by the cyber attack. “The company is truly sorry for how people’s lives and relationships may have been affected by the criminal theft of personal information,” he said.

Avid Life Media has now invested more in cyber defences including partnering Deloitte’s cyber security team and introducing new “secure and discreet” payment options, Mr Segal said.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. When was Ashley Madison attacked by cybercriminals?

A. last spring

B. last summer

C. last August

D. last winner

2. Which one is not right about Avid Life Media as mentioned?

A. It hires only female now

B. It owns several dating sites

C. It appointed a new CEO

D. It invested more in cyber defences now

3. What is the reason of ‘fembots’ as the CEO Segal thought?