1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 36及答案与解析 0 In some ways, China is an unlikely hotbed for e-commerce. Only 38 percent of online buyers pay with credit or debit cards, using instead an army of bicycle messengers delivering cash. There are no reliable credit ratings, or postal services, so some online auction customers
2、 still want to meet the seller in person. Yet none of this deters Americas e-commerce giants Yahoo, Amazon and eBay. All are moving rapidly into China and the rest of Asia, driven by a rather startling fact of the digital age: the survivors of the Internet bubble in America are already mature busine
3、sses at home. Consider: eBay is posting record profits, and Amazon is in the black for the first time in its eight -year history. Yet U. S. growth rates are starting to slow. This year eBay expects to post more sales outside the United States than within. The e-commerce market in Europe is starting
4、to take off, but Asia has the biggest potential. Researchers at IDC forecast that annual Asian sales outside Japan will rise at 38 percent a year through 2007, topping 61 percent in China. William Cobb, head of eBays international business, expects China to overtake Germany and the United Kingdom as
5、 eBAys biggest overseas market “sooner rather than later“. The population of Internet users in China is now 87 million, and growing fast. That explains the bidding: last spring, Yahoo teamed up with S, Chinas largest Internet portal, to break into the online auction business. In August Amazon.corn p
6、aid $72 million for J, one of Chinas top online retailers. And last month, eBay fully plugged EachNet the online auction site it bought last year for $180 million into its global network. To maneuver in Asia, American giants are seeking out local partners. Microsoft has had a hard time cracking Chin
7、ese e-commerce on its own, and AOL had an ill-fated venture with computer-maker Legend. But now local entrepreneurs have built customer bases strong enough to entice global acquirers. E-Ready in Asia As more Asian consumers go online, Asian firms are leading the world in investing to build up their
8、e-commerce capabilities. Share of IT budgets spent on e-commerce Many of them, like Harvard-educated EachNet founder Bo Shao, copied the American e-commerce giants, meticulously setting out to be the eBay or Amazon of China. “E-commerce in Asia could develop along European lines,“ says Forrester Res
9、earch analyst Hellen Omwando. In Europe, established retailers were hesitant, leaving the market to start-ups, which were bought up by U.S. giants. That forced traditional retailers to respond. One big difference: eBay came to dominate auctions in Europe, and Amazon rules retail. But China has even
10、more niche markets, leaving room for three to five major players. Thats encouraging for the contenders, since there are at least that many from the United States alone. 1 Which of the following is not true about e-commerce in China according to the passage? （ A） A large number of online buyers do no
11、t pay with credit cards. （ B） Online auction customers do their business without seeing each other. （ C） China is not fully prepared for e-commerce. （ D） Credit ratings are not reliabl 2 Which of the following is the cause for Americas e-commerce giants moving into China and the rest of Asia? （ A） e
12、Bay is posting record profits. （ B） Amazon is in the black for the first time in its eight-year history. （ C） U.S. growth rates are starting to slow. （ D） European e-commerce is too matur 3 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? （ A） E-commerce in China is developing very fast.
13、 （ B） Americas e-commerce giants are moving into China. （ C） American e-commerce businesses have a hard time doing business on their own in China. （ D） Chinas e-commerce businesses do not like to cooperate with foreign companies. 4 Which of the following is NOT true about European e-commerce markets
14、? （ A） European e-commerce is mainly dominated by American giants. （ B） Established European retailers were hesitant to leave the market to U.S. businesses. （ C） American giants are quite successful in European markets. （ D） Both auctions and retail markets are controlled by U. S. giants. 5 What can
15、 be inferred from the passage? （ A） China will become the major market for American e-commerce businesses. （ B） Chinas e-commerce businesses would do business on their own. （ C） American businesses entry into Chinese market is a threat to Chinas e-commerce. （ D） American giants will move out from Eu
16、ropean markets. 5 Its easy to see why the price of gasoline is so upsetting to so many people. Gas prices are the one economic indicator you see all the time, prominently posted on big signs and the prices are at record levels, seemingly rising by the hour. Thats created a new pastime: driving aroun
17、d until you hit the big score, saving a nickel a gallon. Is this a good use of your time? Not really, once you calculate how long it takes to drive around looking for a bargain and how much gas you burn doing it. If youre already at the financial brink, higher gas prices might push you over but for
18、most people, they ought not to be that big a deal. Dont believe me? Here are the numbers. During its first five years, the average vehicle costs its owner around $725 a month, according to E, an automotive Web site. That includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance and such, but not gas. That avera
19、ged $1.94 a gallon last week, up 45 cents from a year ago. The average vehicle uses 550 gallons of gas annually. Do the math, and at todays price, it costs around $1,070 a year to fuel an average vehicle, up from $820. The difference: less than $25 a month. Forego the Big Gulp, hot dog and chips tha
20、t you get along with your fill-up, and youll be ahead of the game. If you must worry, at least worry about the right thing: the way energy prices will slow down the economy if they stay at current levels. “Higher energy costs flow into every nook and cranny of the economy,“ says Daniel Yergin, chair
21、man of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Each dollar-a-barrel price hike acts like a $20 million-a-day tax $7.3 billion a year on the rest of the economy, with another $13 million a day for natural gas, also in short supply. Oils up $12 a barrel in the past year, a levy that runs more than $100
22、billion annually. Even in an $11 trillion economy, that stings. Unlike previous price spikes, caused by supply shortages, the current jump is caused largely by higher demand as the U.S. economy recovers, Chinas surges and the rest of the worlds fortunes improve. Thats the bad news part of the good e
23、conomic news. But while supply and demand drive prices in the long term, in the short term theyre heavily influenced by financial players, such as traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yergin estimates that the combination of anxiety about the Middle East and financial players have added $6 t
24、o $8 a barrel to oil prices, which closed at $41.38 a barrel Friday. This means that even though world supplies are tight, oil could be knocked down to about $30. Maybe we need some out-of-the-box thinking to dull this price spike. Sure, theres a long-term problem, requiring less demand or more supp
25、ly. But for now, perhaps the Bush administration could use the 660-billion-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve to push prices down. One approach, suggested by Loews CEO Jim Tisch, whose company has extensive energy holdings, is to trade some reserve oil for oil to be delivered in a year. Based on Fri
26、days prices, we could swap six barrels today for seven wed get in 2005. That seems smarter than what were doing: filling the reserve at todays prices. Think of it. Wed both save money and reduce current demand. The White House isnt going for that, however. “The president believes that the Strategic
27、Petroleum Reserve should be used only in the event of an emergency, not to manipulate prices,“ said White House spokesman Trent Duffy. It should be noted that Bush excoriated Bill Clinton for using the reserve to drive down heating-oil prices to help A1 Gore. Sure, that was political but not necessa
28、rily unsound economically. OK, even if you insist on thinking inside the box, just remember that although the big picture is well worth your worry, your gas bills not worth obsessing over. After all, at the current prices, conservings important even mental energy. 6 According to the passage, the ave
29、rage owner spends $725 a month on the following with the exception of _. （ A） depreciation （ B） insurance （ C） maintenance （ D） gas 7 According to the author, what is the most serious consequence of the current higher oil price? （ A） The economy will slow down. （ B） Fewer people can afford to drive.
30、 （ C） People try to save pennies a gallon. （ D） People are wasting time looking for cheap oil. 8 Which of the following is NOT the cause for the current jump of oil prices according to the passage? （ A） U.S. economy recovers. （ B） Chinas economy is developing fast. （ C） The rest of the world is beco
31、ming rich. （ D） The supply of oil is becoming less and less. 9 “Excoriated“ in the sixth paragraph is closest in meaning to _. （ A） exasperated （ B） censured （ C） praised （ D） prevented 10 The author thinks the White House should _. （ A） limit the oil prices （ B） manipulate prices by using the reser
32、ve （ C） save money （ D） reduce demand 专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 36答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 答案在第一段，只有 38%的网络客户使用信用卡或借记卡支付费用，说明大批网上客户不使用信用卡，故排除选项 A；根据 “There are no reliable credit ratings, or postal services, so some online auction customers still want to meet the seller in person ”可排除选项 D，同时可知选项 B与原文不
33、符，故 B为正确答案。第一段中列举的种种事实说明中国还没有完全具备从事电子商务的能力，所以选项 C与原文意思一致，故排除。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 本题答案为第二段的中心意思，即美国电子商务公司进 军中国和亚洲市场的原因：美国的增长率已开始走低。故选项 C为正确答案。选项 A和 B是为了说明这两家公司在美国的发展状况良好，因而，不应成为进军中国市场的理由，而选项 D与原文意思相反：欧洲的电子商务业刚刚开始腾飞，而不是太成熟。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 根据第四段中的图表可知，选项 A与原文意思一致，故排除；第一段的中心意思是美国电子
34、商务巨头正在进军中国市场，故排除选项 B；第四段的中心意思是美国公司为了在亚洲发展，正在寻找当地的合作伙伴，并举例说明微软为了独自挤进中国 市场，经受重重困难，故排除选项 C；而中国企业家也已经做好准备，吸引外国公司进来，选项 D与原文不符，故为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 本题答案在最后一段。由 “eBay came to dominate auctions in Europe, and Amazon rules retail ”可知：欧洲的电子商务业被美国公司垄断，故选项 A与原文意思一致；欧洲的老牌零售商对电子商务犹豫不决，将该市场留给了新创立的公司
35、，而这些公司又被美国公司收购，而选项 B的意思 是，欧洲的老牌零售商犹犹豫豫，不愿将这块市场留给美国公司。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 文章分析了美国电子商务公司进军中国市场的原因，中国电子商务发展的巨大潜力，以及美国公司为了更好发展而采取的各种措施和发展战略，这些都说明中国将成为美国电子商务企业的主要市场。故选项 A为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 本题考察对第二段的理解。文章清楚地表明这笔费用 “includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance and such,
36、but not gas ”，故正确答案为选项D。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 本题考察对第三段的理解：油价上涨的最严重后果是经济发展变得迟缓。故选项 A为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 本题考察对第四段的理解：油价上涨的原因。作者认为 “Unlike previous price spikes, caused by supply shortages”，由此可见，本次油价上涨并不是石油供应短缺造成的。故选项 D为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 本题考察对第六段的理解。作者认为白宫不会同意使用储备油来降低目前的石油价格，并举例说明。由此可见，布什对克林顿的做法进行了谴责。选项 B更符合文章内容，故为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 本文的目的就是为油价上涨提出解决对策，也就是使用储备油来调控油价，因此选项 B为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读
