阅读理解
Conventional display ads are simply wasteful, says Jakob Nielsen of Group M, a large media buyer. Say a company wants to reach young men. It might buy ads on the sports section of a large portal such as Yahoo! But it will also be paying for the women who visit that page.
Real-time bidding helps solve these problems by allowing marketers to buy known audiences. Click to open a web page and an automated auction begins. Firms bid to serve an advertisement, taking into account where it will appear and what they know about the presumed viewer from digital traces he has unconsciously left around the web. The winner serves the advertisement, often customizing it—so you may see more ads for convertible cars on a sunny day. The whole process generally takes some 150 milliseconds, or less than half the blink of an eye.
But the growth of real-time bidding may prove highly disruptive. An auction system allows everyone to discover the real value of online ads. It also provides a wealth of data to advertisers about the behaviour of their target audiences. These days some media firms can charge relatively high rates for online ads on the grounds that their websites are frequented by the young or the affluent. Increasingly, advertisers are learning how to reach the same people on other websites, for less money.
As Mr Nielsen of Group M puts it, the conversation between buyers and sellers of advertising is becoming unbalanced, with the former often armed with more data than the latter. Some media firms have responded by selling fewer ads through middlemen, in real time or otherwise. The obvious way to do this is to force people to register for websites, or even to pay (which reveals their credit-card details and where they live). In short, content is no longer king on-line. Information about users is what really matters.
Regulators may yet hinder the growth of real-time bidding. Targeted advertising is drawing anxious scrutiny from congressmen and journalists. A Wall Street Journal investigation into online tracking last year found that its own website dropped 60 digital markers onto a visiting computer. Before May 25th European governments must incorporate a privacy directive that is expected to make it easier for users to opt out of targeted ads. A confusing patchwork of laws may result.
But few expect radical change. So quickly has targeted advertising advanced that a ban would severely disrupt the internet economy. Web users are more likely to see little icons identifying targeted ads. If the past is any guide, people will learn to ignore them, too.
Real-time bidding helps solve these problems by allowing marketers to buy known audiences. Click to open a web page and an automated auction begins. Firms bid to serve an advertisement, taking into account where it will appear and what they know about the presumed viewer from digital traces he has unconsciously left around the web. The winner serves the advertisement, often customizing it—so you may see more ads for convertible cars on a sunny day. The whole process generally takes some 150 milliseconds, or less than half the blink of an eye.
But the growth of real-time bidding may prove highly disruptive. An auction system allows everyone to discover the real value of online ads. It also provides a wealth of data to advertisers about the behaviour of their target audiences. These days some media firms can charge relatively high rates for online ads on the grounds that their websites are frequented by the young or the affluent. Increasingly, advertisers are learning how to reach the same people on other websites, for less money.
As Mr Nielsen of Group M puts it, the conversation between buyers and sellers of advertising is becoming unbalanced, with the former often armed with more data than the latter. Some media firms have responded by selling fewer ads through middlemen, in real time or otherwise. The obvious way to do this is to force people to register for websites, or even to pay (which reveals their credit-card details and where they live). In short, content is no longer king on-line. Information about users is what really matters.
Regulators may yet hinder the growth of real-time bidding. Targeted advertising is drawing anxious scrutiny from congressmen and journalists. A Wall Street Journal investigation into online tracking last year found that its own website dropped 60 digital markers onto a visiting computer. Before May 25th European governments must incorporate a privacy directive that is expected to make it easier for users to opt out of targeted ads. A confusing patchwork of laws may result.
But few expect radical change. So quickly has targeted advertising advanced that a ban would severely disrupt the internet economy. Web users are more likely to see little icons identifying targeted ads. If the past is any guide, people will learn to ignore them, too.
单选题
11.It is suggested real-time bid ads help advertisers to_____.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】推断题。第二段首句指出实时竞价广告模式解决了这些问题，所谓的这些问题指的就是第一段提出的传统图片广告中广告商的运营费用高的问题。因此实时竞价式广告解决了传统图片广告的高费用问题，即有助于广告商节约广告运营成本。B项最贴近文意。
单选题
12.It's implied in Paragraph 2 that real-time bidding features_____.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节题。第二段主体讲述了实时竞价的特征，媒体公司根据网络用户的信息决定广告出现在哪里；媒体公司还能根据客户的差异、天气的变化调整广告，实现个性化广告服务。由此可见，实时竞价能够做到精准定位，C项符合文意。
单选题
13.The growth of real-time bidding may prove disruptive, because_____.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】细节题。第三段首先指出实时竞价可能极具破坏性；随后指出：媒体公司、广告商都认可实时竞价广告的价值但因价格问题难以对广告的买卖达成一致；后文第四段首句指出广告买卖双方的沟通失衡了。由此可见，说实时竞价发展具有破坏性是因为它造成了广告买卖双方的失衡，故D项最符合文意。
单选题
14.Which of the following is crucial to the world of real-time bidding, according to Paragraph 4?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节题。第四段最后一句明确指出内容已无法称霸网络，用户信息是真正重要的。可见，实时竞价世界中最为关注的是客户(及其相关信息)，故C项正确，同时排除D项。(D项实为“内容”的同义表达)。
单选题
15.The author's attitude towards the ban on targeted advertising is one of_____.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】细节题。文章最后一段指出“少有人期待(对目标广告进行)根本性的改变，因为目标广告发展过快，对其施以禁令会严重扰乱互联网经济，网民对其该采取的措施只能是无视”可知，作者对目标广告的禁令的态度是反对，A项正确。原文中few expect…radical change，severely disrupt，ignore等词均侧面映射了作者对ban的反对。