单选题
FOR the past two years in Silicon Valley, the centre of America's technology industry, conference-goers have entertained themselves playing a guessing game: how many times will a speaker mention the phrase "long tail"? It is usually a high number, thanks to the influence of the long tail theory, which was first developed by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, in an article in 2004. Though technologists and bloggers chuckle at how every business presentation now has to have its long-tail section, most are envious of Mr Anderson, whose brainwave quickly became the most fashionable business idea around. Whether a blockbuster film, a bestselling novel, or a chart-topping rap song, popular culture idolizes the hit. Companies devote themselves to creating them because the cost of distribution and the limits of shelf space in physical shops mean that profitability depends on a high volume of sales. But around the beginning of this century a group of internet companies realized that with endless shelves and a national or even international audience online they could offer a huge range of products—and make money at the same time. The niche, the obscure and the specialist, Mr Anderson argues, will gain ground at the expense of the hit. As evidence, he points to a drop in the number of companies that traditionally calculate their revenue/sales ratio according to the 80/20 rule—where the top fifth of products contribute four-fifths of revenues. Ecast, a San Francisco digital jukebox company, found that 98% of its 10,000 albums sold at least one track every three months. Expressed in the language of statistics, the experiences of Ecast and other companies such as Amazon, an online bookseller, suggest that products down in the long tail of a statistical distribution, added together, can be highly profitable. The internet helps people find their way to relatively obscure material with recommendations and reviews by other people and (for those willing to have their artistic tastes predicted by a piece of software) computer programs which analyze past selections. Long-tail enthusiasts argue that the whole of culture will benefit, not just commercial enterprises. Television, film and music are such bewitching media in their own right that many people are quite happy to watch and listen to what the mainstream provides. But if individuals have the opportunity to pick better, more ideally suited entertainment from a far wider selection, they will take it, according to the theory of the long tail. Some analysts reckon that entire populations might become happier and wiser once they have access to thousands of documentaries, independent films and sub-genres of every kind of music, instead of being subjected to what Mr Anderson calls the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare. That might be taking things a bit far. But the long tail is certainly one of the internet's better gifts to humanity.
单选题
According to the first paragraph, the author believes that______. [A] America's technology industry prefers conferences [B] "long tail" is a new concept of business [C] technologists mention "long tail" in every speech [D] long-tail section began to form in 2004
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[试题类型] 推理引申题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词the first paragraph定位到文章第一段。该段描述了长尾理论受到的热捧。长尾理论最初是由《连线》杂志的编辑克里斯·安德森在2004年的一篇文章中提出的(...long tail theory, which was first developed by...)，此人的灵感竟然迅速成为风靡一时的商业理念(whose brainwave quickly became the most fashionable business idea around)。由此可知，长尾理论是一种新的商业理念，选项[B]与此相符，故为答案。 [干扰排除] 该段首句提到，过去两年来，在美国硅谷参加会议的人们常玩一个猜谜游戏：一名发言者将会提到多少次“长尾”这个词?这句话的目的是引出长尾理论，并说明长尾理论在这些人中的巨大影响力，但不能说叫美国的科技产业喜欢开会，故排除选项[A]。该段最后一句指出，目前每个商务演讲都有陈述长尾理论的部分，技术专家和博主们都觉得这很可笑。这句话并不意味着技术专家自己在每一次发言时都会提及长尾理论，故选项[C]错误。该段第二句指出，长尾理论最初是由《连线》杂志的编辑克里斯·安德森于2004年提出的，该选项偷换概念，将long tail theory换为long tail section(阐述长尾理论的部分)，故排除选项[D]。
单选题
The 80/20 rule is used to______. [A] prove the long tail theory [B] figure out financial ratio [C] select profitable products [D] design procedures
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[试题类型] 具体信息题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词80/20 rule定位到文章第三段。该段第二句指出，传统的按照“二八定律”来计算收入与销售比例的公司数量已经有所减少(...traditionally calculate their revenue/sales ratio according to the 80/20 rule...)，对于“二八定律”，作者随后给出了更详细的解释：80%的收入都来自于销售量位于前5位的产品(where the top fifth of products contribute four-fifths of revenues)。由此可见，“二八定律”用来计算收入与销售量之间的比率关系，故选项[B]“计算财务比率”为答案。 [干扰排除] 由原文可知，“二八定律”与长尾理论是两种截然相反的商业理念，作者提及“二八定律”是为了证明长尾理论在商界越来越得到认可(The niche, the obscure and the specialist...will gain ground at the expense of the hit)，而不是为了证明长尾理论本身的正确性，故排除选项[A]。“二八定律”是根据商品的赢利情况而得出的结果，文中并没有应用该理论寻找可赢利商品这个信息，故排除选项[C]。选项[D]“没计程序”文中也没有提到，故排除。
单选题
With which of the following would the long-tail advocates most probably agree? [A] People are more willing to catch what the mainstream provides. [B] People have more opportunities to find entertainment through computer. [C] People would be happy for having access to a wider selection. [D] People in the cultural field benefit most from the long tail theory.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[试题类型] 推理引申题。 [解题思路] 本题就长尾理论支持者的观点进行提问，根据题干关键词the long-tail advocates定位到文章第四段。第四段第三句指出，根据长尾理论，如果人们有机会在更大的选择范围内挑选时，他们会这样做的(if individuals have the opportunity to pick...from a far wider selection, they will take it...)。第四句继续指出，如果有机会接触到数以千计的纪录片、独立制作的电影和各种非主流音乐(once they have access to...)，人们将会变得更加快乐和明智(entire populations might become happier and wiser)。由此可知，长尾理论认为，人们乐意有更大的选择范围，放选项[C]为本题答案。 [干扰排除] 本段第二句提出，很多人非常乐意观看或收听主流媒介提供的节目(...people are quite happy to watch and listen to...)，但第三句和第四句接着指出，如果个人能够有机会选择更精彩的娱乐节目，人们将会做出其他选择，并且将会变得更加快乐和明智，由此可见选项[A]“人们更乐意观看主流媒体提供的节目”与原文不符，故排除。文章第三段段末提到在网络商城，人们可以通过电脑寻找一些不太知名的商品，但文中并没有说通过电脑更容易找到娱乐节目，故选项[B]也可排除。选项[D]根据本段第一句设置干扰，第一句指出，不仅是商业公司，整个文化界也会受益于这一理论，文中并没有对哪个行业受益更多进行比较，故选项[D]错误。
单选题
The phrase "lowest-common-denominator" (Line 9, Paragraph 4) probably refers to______. [A] the long tail theory [B] the disadvantaged group [C] the profitability [D] the hit
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[试题类型] 语意理解题。 [解题思路] 题干关键词lowest-common-denominator出现在文章第四段。由第二至四句可知，电视、电影和音乐由于其独特的魅力使得许多人乐于接受主流媒体提供的节目，但当人们有机会接触到其他的纪录片、电影和音乐(once they have access to...)，而不是受制于安德森所称的“最小公分母”时(instead of being subjected to what Mr Anderson calls the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare)，人们将会变得更加快乐和明智。由此可知，其他的纪录片、电影和音乐即指主流媒体以外的其他节目，而安德森所称的“最小公分母”则与此相对，指主流媒体提供的节目或当下流行的节目。选项[D]与文意相符，为答案。 [干扰排除] 由以上分析可知，选项[A]、[B]、[C]均不是lowest-common-denominator所指代的内容，皆可排除。
单选题
Which of the following is the best title for the text? [A] The Formulation of the Long Tail Theory [B] What the Long Tail Theory Will Do [C] The Long Tail Theory VS. The 80/20 Rule [D] The Decline of the Popular Culture