单选题 Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. "My whole motto was 'Start small, think big, and have fun' ," says MacDonald, 26, "I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. "
Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400, 000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing number of barter sites. These websites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machinery and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-Services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing.
This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrier—what Bob Meyer, publisher of Barter News, calls "the double coincidence of wants. " That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency.
Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is "hugely bartered" because many media, particularly on the Web, can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads don't register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges.
Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to "grade" trading partners for honesty, quality and so on. Barter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goods. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be "liberated from corrupt middlemen". For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past.

单选题 The word "techies" (Line 4, Para. 1) probably refers to those who are ______。
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为词汇题，参见文章第1段，这句话的大意是：麦克唐纳的这种做法可能会得到techies的推动(likely got a boost from techies)，由此可判断techies是一些技术熟练的人。其他选项中的[A] afraid of害怕，[C] ignorant of无知，[D] incompetent无能；都带有贬义色彩，不合题意。
单选题 Many people may have deliberately helped Kyle because they ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为细节题，参见文章第1段第3句：MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. 其大意是：麦克唐纳的这种做法可能会得到techies的推动，因为这些人渴望看到因特网通过这一大胆的尝试，证明网络的力量。由此可判断正确答案为D。
单选题 The Internet barter system relies heavily on ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为细节题，参见文章第2段。其大意是：实物交易(barter)现在是 网络上的大买卖。今年全世界将有超过四十万家公司在实物交易网交换价值一百亿美元的货物和服务。这些网站允许公司将交易品换为虚拟货币(trade products for a virtual currency)，可使用虚拟货币购买其他的会员货物。由此可见，因特网上的实物交易系统从很大程度上依靠虚拟货币的使用，故正确答案为B。
单选题 It is implied that Internet advertisements can help ______。
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为推测题，参见文章第4段。其大意是：实物交易也帮助公司利用闲散资金(Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity.)。举例说，广告是“大规模的实物交易”，因为许多媒体，尤其是网络，能以很低的费用提供新的广告空间。由此可推论，因特网上的广告能帮助公司获得更多利润。故正确答案为A。
单选题 Which of the following is true of QL2 according to the author?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为是非判断题，参见文章第5段末，其大意是：QL2主任Gacii waciuma说，农民们对“从腐败的中间人的盘剥中获得解放”而感到兴奋(the farmers are excited to be "liberated from corrupt middlemen.")，也就是帮他们摆脱了腐败的中间人。由此可见，简称为QL2的非营利的交换有助于摆脱贸易和交换过程中的中间人，故正确答案为C。