网址：http://m.1010jiajiao.com/timu3_id_3075318[举报]
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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.
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Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier，have better marriages and have more respectable occupations. Personal consultants give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants(被告)．But in the executive circle，beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder，it is harmful to a woman.
Handsome male executives were thought as having more integrity than plainer men；effort and ability were thought to account for their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity than unattractive ones；their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly，though，the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able？An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine and an attractive man more masculine(有男子气概的)than the less attractive ones. Thus，an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs，but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the “masculine” qualities required.
This is true even in politics. “When the only clue is how he or she looks，people treat men and women differently，”says Anne Bowman，who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs，one of men and one of women，in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again，in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males utterly defeated unattractive men，but the women who had been ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.
【小题1】The underlined word “liability”(in Para.1)most probably means “________”．
| A．misfortune | B．instability | C．disadvantage | D．burden |
| A．reinforces(加强)the feminine qualities required |
| B．makes women look more honest and capable |
| C．is of primary importance to women |
| D．often enables women to succeed quickly |
| A．turns out to be an obstacle to men |
| B．affects men and women alike |
| C．has as little effect on men as on women |
| D．is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women |
| A．practical | B．prejudiced | C．oldfashioned | D．pessimistic |
| A．demand equal rights for women |
| B．emphasize the importance of appearance |
| C．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive |
| D．give advice to jobseekers who are attractive |