Question

For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall．Soon, that will change．Electronic commerce （trade） is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices．There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from being cheated will be harder．Many governments therefore want to apply street regulations to the electronic world．But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation．

Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything for the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs or their rights to refund when goods are faulty．But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence is on the screen．Even in a country where a clear right to compensation exists, the on-line customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to get a refund for a clothes purchase．

One answer is for government to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s  rules．But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules．And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober countries to accept．There is, however, another choice．Let the electronic businesses do the regulation themselves．They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so．

In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset．Governments, too, may compete to be trusted．For instance, customers ordering medicines on-line may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead．

Customers will still need to use their judgment．But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than customers of the normal sort．And the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain when a company lets them down．In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more．

1.According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?

A．Self-regulation by the business．           B．Strict consumer protection laws．

C．Close international cooperation．           D．Government protection．

2.In case an electronic shopper bought faulty goods from a foreign country, what could he do?

A．Refuse to pay for the purchase．           B．Go to the seller and ask for a refund．

C．Appeal to consumer protection law．        D．Complain about it on the Internet．

3.In the author’s view, businesses would place a high emphasis on honest dealing because in the electronic world _________________________________．

A．international cooperation would be much more frequent

B．consumers could easily seek government protection

C．a(chǎn) good reputation is a great advantage in competition

D．it would be easy for consumers to complain

4.We can infer from the passage that in licensing new drugs the FDA in the United States is ____________________．

A．very quick         B．very cautious       C．very slow          D．rather careless

5.If a customer buys something that does not meet his expectation, what is the advantage of dealing through electronic commerce over the present normal one?

A．It will be easier for him to return the goods he is not satisfied with．

B．It will be easier for him to attain the refund from the seller．

C．It will be easier for him to get his complaints heard by other consumers．

D．It will be easier for him to complain about this to the government．

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.B

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：

1.這是細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation．可知應(yīng)選A。

2.這是細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)And the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain when a company lets them down．故選D。

3.這是細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset．故選C。

4.這是推理理解題。根據(jù)because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict可得出美國的藥品管理是很謹(jǐn)慎的，故選B。

5.這是推理理解題。根據(jù)And the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain when a company lets them down．Complain about it on the Internet故選C。

考點(diǎn)：這是一篇議論文。

點(diǎn)評：本文講述了網(wǎng)絡(luò)空間cyberspace的創(chuàng)建可成為法人自律的基礎(chǔ)，由此保護(hù)消費(fèi)者的權(quán)益。細(xì)節(jié)理解題一般是要求考生在仔細(xì)閱讀文段的基礎(chǔ)上，判斷所給選項(xiàng)是否與文段表面或隱含表述一致。