单选题 {{B}}Text 3{{/B}}

If open-source software is supposed to be free, how does anyone selling it make any money? It's not that different from how other software companies make money.
You'd think that a software company would make most of its money from, well, selling software. But you'd be wrong. For one thing, companies don't sell software, strictly speaking; they license it. The profit margin on a software license is nearly 100 percent, which is why Microsoft gushes billions of dollars every quarter.
But what's the value of a license to a customer? A license doesn't deliver the code, provide the utilities to get a piece of software running, or answer the phone when something inevitably goes wrong. The value of software, in short, doesn't lie in the software alone. The value is in making sure the soft- ware does its job. Just as a traveler should look at the overall price of a vacation package instead of obsessing over the price of the plane ticket or hotel mom, a smart tech buyer won't focus on how much the license costs and ignore the support contract or the maintenance agreement.
Open-source is not that different. If you want the software to work, you have to pay to ensure it will work. The open-source companies have refined the software model by selling subscriptions. They roll together support and maintenance and charge an annual fee, which is a healthy model, though not quite as wonderful as Microsoft's money-raking one. Tellingly, even Microsoft is casting an envious eye at aspects of the open-source business model. The company has been taking halting steps toward a similar subscription scheme for its software sales. Microsoft's subscription program, known as Soft- ware Assurance, provides maintenance and support together with a software license. It lets you up- grade to Microsoft's next version of the software for a predictable sum. But it also contains an implicit threat: If you don't switch to Software Assurance now, who knows how much Microsoft will charge you when you decide to upgrade?
Chief information officers hate this kind of *'assurance", since they're often perfectly happy running older versions of software that are proven and stable. Microsoft, on the other hand, rakes in the software-licensing fees only when customers upgrade. Software Assurance is Microsoft's attempt to get those same licensing fees but wrap them together with the service and support needed to keep systems running. That's why Microsoft finds the open-source model so threatening: open-source companies have no vested interest in getting more licensing fees and don't have to pad their service contracts with that extra cost. In the end, the main difference between open-source and proprietary software companies may be the size of the check you have to write.

单选题 The author used the example of a traveler (Para. 3) to show that

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题问作者在第三段提到旅游者的例子是为了说明……。第三段末句提到旅游者应关注旅游的总报价，而不是单单注意机票或者酒店的单项价格，软件购买者不应只关注许可证要花多少钱，还要注意技术支持和保修等协议。可以看出，作者举旅游者的例子是为了说明软件的价值应该作为一个整体考虑，而不能只关注许可证。故A项“软件的价值应该从整体上考虑”正确。 [B] 科技产品购买者应不在乎许可证：过度引申。文意是说不要只关注许可证，不能由此得出应该不在乎许可证的结论。实际上本项也属意义消极项，如果购买者都无视许可证，岂不成了支持盗版。 [C]许可证不是由支持和维护构成的：肤浅项。许可证与支持和维护并无包含关系，这仅是常识性的事实，与作者举此例要说明的问题不相干。注意像这种意义肤浅、单纯就事论事的选项一般不会是正解。 [D]顾客必须付很多钱才能得到许可证：例证题要联系上下文，本例出现在第三段，第三段所讨论的问题就是论证软件的价值不应只考虑计：可证，本例也正是为了说明这个问题。而本选项内容是第二段末句涉及到的内容(微软的许可证利润率比较高)。

单选题 Which of the following seems to be the overall attitude of Microsoft toward subscription plan?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题问微软对订阅式计划的整体态度是什么?“subscription plan”＝“subscription scheme(program)”．再由题干中的Microsoft可将出题点定位在第四段后半部分。第四段第六句提到“The company has been taking halting steps toward a similar subscription scheme……”，其中“halting”表示犹犹豫豫的意思。从文中可以看出，对于开源软件把支持和维修绑在一起并收取年费的订阅式模式，微软感到羡慕，然而它却舍不得放弃许可证的利润，这就是为什么它犹犹豫豫地推出类似于把维修支持与软件许可证绑在一起的方案。故D项“犹豫的”正确。 [A] 热切的：同上述，可以看出尽管微软对感到开源软件的订阅式模式感到羡慕，它在推出自己的把维修支持与软件许可证绑在一起的订阅式方案时态度是犹豫的，不是热切的。 [B]怀疑的：语气过重。“doubtful”这个词一般表示明显的不确定性，有比较强烈的质疑语气。但文中微软是一种尝试、犹豫的态度。提醒考生对于这种语气较重的选项，如果文中没有确切的证据，不要轻易选它。 [C]自信的：正相反。

单选题 According to the passage Microsoft

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问根据文章，微软……。第四段第六句提到“The company has been taking halting steps toward a similar subscription scheme…”，这里“similar”指的正是跟第四段第三句中的“selling subscriptions”相似。也就是说微软借鉴了开源软件的销售模式。故B项“参考了开源软件业务模式”正确。 [A] 操作着更好的销售系统：第四段第四句提到“though not quite as wonderful as Microsoft's money-raking one”，这里指的是微软赚的钱多，不能笼统地说微软的销售系统比开源软件公司好。实际上这是细枝末节，作者真正的意图是开源软件公司对微软造成威胁，正与本项意义相反。考生要注意整篇文章作者的中心思想，不要被文中的细枝末节挡住视线。 [C] 迫使科技产品购买者升级软件：是对第四段末句中“an implicit threat”的曲解。文中是指微软的做法潜在地威胁用户要采用“软件保障”，否则升级时的花费就没准了。但并没有强迫用户升级软件。 [D] 收取服务和技术支持的年费：第四段第四句提到开源软件公司收取服务和技术支持的年费。至于微软公司作者没有确切说明，不过第五段第二句提到“Microsoft…rakes in the software-licensing fees only when customers upgrade”，可以猜测微软大概是在软件升级时才收取费用。

单选题 "That extra cost"(Line 7, Para. 5) probably refers to

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题问第五段中“that extra cost”指的是……。第五段倒数第二句提到“Open-source companies have no vested interest in getting more licensing fees and don't have to pad their service contracts with that extra cost”，既然有代词“that”，说明前面提到过这种“extra cost”，由此可以猜测它指的是本句中稍前的“licensing fees”。再联系文中的内容，开源软件本身是免费的(即没有licensing fees)，它收的是支持和服务费用。而微软则除了支持和服务费用，还有licensing fees，故这里extra cost显然正是指licensing fees．因此A项“软件许可证费用”正确。 [B] 一个软件产品的所有费用、[C] 服务条款的费用：由对A项分析可知extra cost既不是软件全部费用，也不是服务费用。 [D] 订阅式的收赞：微软的“软件保障”计划和开源软件公司都属于订阅式的收费，两者的区别并不在这里。而题干中的“that extra cost”正是指两者的区别，因此不能笼统地用“the charge for subscription”。

单选题 Which of the following is true about Microsoft?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题问关于微软下列哪项是正确的。第四段谈到微软实行了“软件保障”计划，它将维修支持与许可证捆绑在一起，而且付一定的钱可以升级到下一版本。可见这需要用户预先为以后的服务和升级付钱。故C项“它的新计划需要顾客提前付款”正确。 [A]很多信息总监厌恶它：这是对末段首句“Chief information officers hate this kind of‘assurance’．．．”的曲解。文中是指这些信息总监不喜欢的是这项计划，因为他们不喜欢总是升级，并非讨厌微软。 [B]它发展了自己的开源软件：文中只提到它借鉴开源软件的经营模式，并没提到它开发了开源软件。 [D]它羡慕开源软件公司因为它们利润很高：由第四段第五句知，它羡慕开源软件公司是因为它们的经营模式值得借鉴，并非因为利润高。实际上由第四段第四句可以看出，开源软件公司并不如微软公司赚钱。