阅读理解

Passage Three

Nowadays, Internet shopping is becoming increasingly popular and many high street stores and supermarkets are now offering this facility. You can shop for just about anything in the comfort ofyour own home, and all you need to do is to sit in your armchair and order things directly on the Internet.

Shopping on the Internet offers convenience and time-saving benefits to shoppers, as compared to traditional storefront(店面) shopping. People can shop for a variety of products on the Internet, ranging from physical products, such as books, CDs, clothes and food, to information products, such as online news or magazines stories. The Internet operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike traditional storefronts which have fixed opening hours. No wonder that some research findings indicate that consumers views the Internet as an “instrument ofconvenience”.

Despite the advantages of Internet shopping, there are also disadvantages of Internet shopping. The main disadvantage is that you cannot actually see the products you are buying or check their quality. Sometimes the computer image of the products can hardly compare with those that can be touched for quality and put on for comfort. Furthermore, Internet shopping cannot provide the social interaction and the sense of community. Many people will find it completely unpleasant because they may miss the opportunity to talk to friends. Some people are worried about paying for goods using credit cards, so Internet companies are now finding ways to make online payment safe.

As a new type ofshopping, Internet shopping is bound to become more and more popular in the future. Moreover, ifthe problem ofthe security ofthe payment can be overcome, there will be more people willing to try online shopping.