单选题 In 1998 consumers could purchase virtually anything over the Internet. Books, compact discs, and even stocks were available from World Wide Web sites that seemed to spring up almost dally. A few years earlier, some people had predicted that consumers accustomed to shopping in stores would be reluctant to buy things that they could not see or touch in person. For a growing number of time-starved consumers, however, shopping from their home computer was proved to be a convenient alternative to driving to the store.
A research estimated that in 1998 US consumers would purchase $ 7.3 billion of goods over the Internet, double the 1997 total. Finding a bargain was getting easier owing to the rise of online auctions and Web sites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal.
For all the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, however. Internet pioneer Amazon. com, which began selling books in 1995 and liter branched into recorded music and videos, posted revenue of $ 153.7 million in the third quarter, up from $ 37.9 million in the same period of 1997. Overall, however, the company"s loss widened to $ 45.2 million from $ 9.6 million, and analysis did not expect the company to turn a profit until 2001. Despite the great loss, Amazon. com had a stock market value of many billions, reflecting investors" optimism about the future of the industry Internet retailing appealed to investors because it provided an efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople. Selling online carried its own risks, however. With so many companies competing for consumers" attention, price competition was intense and profit margins thin or nonexistent. one video retailer sold the hit movie Titanic for $ 9. 99, undercutting (削价) the $ 19.99 suggested retail price and losing about $ 6 on each copy sold. With Internet retailing still in its initial stage, companies seemed willing to absorb such losses in an attempt to establish a dominant market position.

单选题 Which of the following is TRUE according to the writer?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第一段“For a growing number of time-starved consumers，however，shopping from their home computer was proved to be a convenient alternative to driving to the store．”对于越来越多时间不充裕的消费者来说，与开车到商场购物相比，通过家用电脑购物被证实是一个方便的选择。可见尽管说网上购物有一些不习惯，但是相比之下，它确实是一个方便的选择。所以A、B项不对，而D项正确。第三段第1句话讲到“尽管消费者感兴趣，但是，网络空间还是一个不赚钱的生意”，可见C项也不对。

单选题 Finding a bargain on the Internet was getting easier partly because ______ .

单选题 "For all the consumer interest" (Paragraph 3) means ______ .

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段“For all the consumer interest，retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business，”尽管所有的消费者感兴趣，但是，网络空间的零售一直还是一个巨大的不赚钱的生意。由于后面的意思做了一个转折，说是不赚钱的生意，可见，前面的句子和它的意思相反，应该是“尽管消费者感兴趣”。只有C项符合句意，所表达的意思与后文构成一个转折关系。

单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that Amazon. com ______ .

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段：一开始讲到1995年开始卖书，后来销售录音制品，由此可见：它现在已经不卖书了。所以C不对。后面讲到：通过分析得知直到2001年公司没有期望能够扭亏为赢。也就是说赚钱的状况在2001年的时候可能会完全扭转过来，开始盈利了。所以A项正确。B项“正在赚取利润”显然也是不对的，因为亏损的局面目前仍然没有扭转。作者在本段接下来的部分又讲到尽管目前处于一种亏损状态，但“Amazon．com”在股票市场上价值达数十亿，可见D项不对。

单选题 Investors are interested in Internet retailing because ______ .

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后一段“Internet retailing appealed to investors because it provided an efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople．”可见，投资者对因特网的零售感兴趣的原因是他们可以接触到广大的消费者。所以C项正确。紧接着说“Selling online carried its own risks”网上销售也有其自身的风险，可见 A项不对；B、D两项的内容不符合题意。