网址：http://m.1010jiajiao.com/timu3_id_3018889[举报]
阅读理解
Ten years ago, Pierre Omidyar, a software engineer working in California’s Silicon Valley, began
thinking about how to use the internet for a trading system in which buyers and sellers could establish
a genuine market price. Over a long holiday weekend he wrote the computer code. At first, a trickle
of users arrived at his website-including his girlfriend, who traded PEZ candy dispensers. By the end
of 1995, several thousand auctions had been completed and interest in eBay was growing. And it grew
and grew. From this modest beginning, eBay has become a global giant, with around 150m registered
users worldwide who are set to buy and sell goods worth more than $40 billion this year.
The remarkable tale of eBay’s growth points to some important lessons for any business trying to
operate online-and today that includes, one way or another, most firms. The commercial opportunities
presented by an expanding global web seem almost limitless. But the pace of change is rapid, and so
is the ferocity（激烈）of competition. To succeed, firms need agility(灵活), an open mind and the
ability to reinvent themselves repeatedly. Most of all, they need to listen carefully to their customers,
paying close attention to what they do and don’t want.
Such qualities, of course, would be valuable in any kind of business. Yet for online firms they are
not a luxury, but necessary for mere survival. This is true for a variety of reasons. The internet is not
only growing, but changing rapidly-which, in turn, changes the rules of the game for any business
relying on it. The barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses,
which means that just keeping track of your existing rivals is not enough. These may not represent the
greatest competitive threat tomorrow or the next day. That could come from a number of
directions-a firm in a different type of online business; one that does not yet exist; or even from one
of your own customers. On top of all this, the behavior of many consumers is constantly changing
as well, as individuals discover new ways to shop and interact with each other via the web.
All these factors make the internet a dangerous place to do business, as well as one full of
promise. eBay’s history demonstrates both of those things. It is probably safe to say that nothing
like eBay could have existed without the internet-or could have grown so fast. Even though there have
been signs of the firm’s blistering(快速的) pace slowing a bit in America, its most “mature” market,
there remain vast opportunities overseas, particularly, some argue, in China. Meg Whitman, eBay’s
chief executive, believes the company is still only at the beginning of what it could achieve.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
A. To introduce the founder of eBay and his girlfriend.
B. To demonstrate how clever the founder of eBay is.
C. To show how eBay started and has grown.
D. To introduce eBay to people.
2. Which of the following best summarizes Pierre Omidyar’s intention with regard to eBay?
A. To set up a global internet business.
B. To allow people to freely buy and sell on the internet at acceptable prices.
C. To set up a mechanism on the internet to allow people to trade at true market prices.
D. To se up a business mechanism for his girlfriend.
3. Which of these is it NOT necessary for a company selling on the internet to do?
A. Have the most competitive price for each of their online products.
B. Be able to change to suit the prevailing（流行的，优势的）market conditions.
C. Be prepared to consider all options and alternatives.
D. Have a good idea of what their customers do not want.
4. What does “barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses”
in paragraph 3 mean?
A. It is easier to set up an internet business than a conventional one.
B. Internet trade is growing faster than traditional business sector.
C. It is cheaper to set up an internet business than a traditional one.
D. Companies generally prefer to do business online rather than offline.
5. Why does the article conclude that the internet “is a dangerous place to do business”?
A. Because companies that sell online may be unreliable.
B. Because there are no controls on doing business on the internet.
C. Because doing business online is unpredictable.
D. Because even companies like eBay have problems doing business online.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.
Recently, the most popular topic among people in Zhongguancun has been: How far is Zhongguancun away from Silicon Valley (硅谷)? Can Zhongguancun be the next Silicon Valley?
People think that the day is not far when Zhongguancun will become a Silicon Valley. This is because Silicon Valley has two famous universities, Stanford and Berkeley universities, and Zhongguancun also has two universities, Peking and Tsinghua universities. Silicon Valley and Zhongguancun are gathering places for engineers. Silicon Valley has a group of well-known American high-tech companies including Intel and Hewlett-Packard, and Zhongguancun has famous companies such as Lenovo and Founder. Silicon Valley is good at science and technology, especially the information industry, while Zhongguancun is known as an electronics street.
However, Silicon Valley is still a far dream for Zhongguancun. Silicon Valley is a product of the market economy, while Zhongguancun is a government-led industrial group. Silicon Valley has an investment system of its own, while Zhongguancun is mainly a trading center for information products, a sales center and a market center. The Silicon Valley people have special and useful ideas. It’s important because of people’s innovation and adventure. All of the people have a good inter-personal relationship network, which enables Silicon Valley business starters to quickly get more money they need, find partners and grow.
The people in Zhongguancun think more about fund-raising, and give little thought to other factors. Some managers don’t understand the idea of market well. This can bring about many problems and can easily lead to failure. Now the basic task for Zhongguancun is to know the demands of the market and the users.
Now, many overseas talents who are returning home are people who once studied, lived and worked in Silicon Valley. A group of first-class universities have taken part in the development of Zhongguancun. It’s believed that Zhongguancun can become the next Silicon Valley, but it doesn’t need to copy Silicon Valley in every way. Zhongguancun can become a Silicon Valley with Chinese characteristics.
64. According to the passage, what is Hewlett-Packard?
A.An American high-tech company in Silicon Valley.
B.A famous American company in Zhongguancun.
C.The most famous university in America.
D.The headquarters of Silicon Valley.
65. Which of the following is WRONG about the differences between Zhongguancun and Silicon Valley?
A.Zhongguancun is a government-led industrial group.
B.Silicon Valley has an investment system of its own.
C.The Zhongguancun people don’t have lots of ideas of innovation and adventure.
D.Some managers in Silicon Valley don’t understand the idea of market well.
66. What does the author suggest in the fourth paragraph?
Chinese should bravely face some failure.
Chinese should think more about fund-raising.
Chinese should understand the demands of the market and the customers.
Chinese should have a quicker development in science.
67. What is the main idea of this passage?
A.China develops more slowly than America in science and technology.
B.The possibility that Zhongguancun becomes a Silicon Valley is discussed.
C.Americans have a better inter-personal relationship network than Chinese.
D.Some methods are put up to enlarge the competitive ability of Zhongguancun.
查看习题详情和答案>>