In 1998 consumers could purchase virtually anything over the internet. Books, compact discs. And even stocks were available from Word Wide Web sites that seemed to spring up almost daily. A few years earlier, some people had predicted that consumers accustomed to shopping in stores would be reluctant to buy things that they could not see or touch in person. For a growing number of time-starved consumers, however, shopping from their home computer was proving to be a convenient alternative to driving to the store.
A research estimated that in 1998 US consumers would purchase $7.3 billion of goods over the internet, double the 1997 total. Finding a bargain was getting easier owing to the rise of online auctions and Web sites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal.
For all the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, however. Internet pioneer Amazon.Com, which began selling books in 1995 and later branched into recorded music and videos, posted revenue of $153.7 million in the third quarter, up from $37.9 million in the same period in 1997. Overall, however, the company’s loss widened to $45.2 million from $9.6 million, and analysts did not expect the company to turn a profit until 2001. Despite the great loss, Amazon.com had a stock market value of many billion, reflecting investors’ optimism about the future of industry.
Internet retailing appealed to investors because it provided efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople. Selling online carried its own risks, however. With so many companies competing for consumers’ attention, price competition was intense and profit margins thin or nonexistent. One video retailer sold he hit movie Titanic for $9.99, undercutting the $19.99 suggested retail price and losing about $6 on each copy sold. With Internet retailing still in its initial stage, companies seemed willing to absorb such losses in an attempt to establish a dominant market position.
1. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the writer?
2. Finding a bargain on the internet was getting easier partly because（ ）.
3. “For all the consumer interest” （Paragraphs） means（ ）.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that Amazon.com（ ）.
5. Investors are interested in Internet retailing because（ ） .
问题1选项
A.Consumers are reluctant to buy things on the internet.
B.Consumers are too busy to buy things on the internet.
C.Internet retailing is a profitable business.
D.More and more consumers prefer internet shopping.
问题2选项
A.there were more and more Internet users
B.there were more and more online auctions
C.the consumers had more money to spend
D.there were more goods available in the Internet
问题3选项
A.to the interest of all the consumers
B.for the interest of all the consumers
C.though consumers are very much interested
D.all the consumers are much interested
问题4选项
A.will probably make a profit in 2001
B.is making a profit now
C.is a company that sells books only
D.suffers a greet loss on the stock market
问题5选项
A.selling online involves little risk
B.Internet retailing is in its initial stage
C.it can easily reach millions of consumers
D.they can make huge profits from it.
第1题:D
第2题:B
第3题:C
第4题:A
第5题:C
第1题:
推理判断题。由第一段For a growing number of time-starved consumers, however, shopping from their home computer was proving to be a convenient alternative to driving to the store. 然而，对于越来越多缺乏时间的消费者来说，事实证明，用家用电脑购物比开车去商店更方便。For all the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, 尽管有消费者感兴趣，但网络零售在很大程度上仍是一项无利可图的业务，可知AC两项表述与原文相反，B项“消费者太忙而不会网上购物”表述有误。故D项“越来越多的消费者更喜欢网购”正确。
第2题:
细节事实题。由第二段Finding a bargain was getting easier owing to the rise of online auctions and Web sites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal. 由于网上拍卖和一些为了比价买最划算的产品的网站兴起，寻找便宜货变得越来越容易。可知B项正确。
第3题:
语义题。For all the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, 尽管消费者感兴趣，但网络零售在很大程度上仍是一项无利可图的业务。接着下文列举了亚马逊的亏损。故interest在句中意为“感兴趣”，即使很多消费者喜欢网上购物，但网上零售仍是无利可图的。故C项正确。
第4题:
推理判断题。由Internet pioneer Amazon. Com, which began selling books in 1995 and later branched into recorded music and videos…互联网先驱亚马逊，1995年，该公司开始销售图书，后来又涉足录制音乐和视频。以及 analysts did not expect the company to turn a profit until 2001. Despite the great loss, Amazon.com had a stock market value of many billion, reflecting investors’ optimism about the future of industry.分析师们预计，该公司要到2001年才会盈利。尽管损失惨重，但亚马逊的股票市值仍高达数十亿美元，反映出投资者对行业未来的乐观态度。可知A项“可能在2001年盈利”正确；B项与原文不符；C项“亚马逊只卖书”与原文不符；D项表述错误，亚马逊的股票一直很稳健。
第5题:
判断推理题。由最后一段Internet retailing appealed to investors because it provided efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople. 互联网零售之所以吸引投资者，是因为它提供了一种有效的方式，可以接触到数以百万计的消费者，而无需花费经营传统商店的大量销售人员的成本。可知投资者对互联网零售感兴趣的原因是通过互联网能接触到很多消费者，并且能节省成本。故C项正确。
