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     Ten years ago, Pierre Omidyar, a software engineer working in California’s Silicon Valley, began

thinking about how to use the internet for a trading system in which buyers and sellers could establish

a genuine market price. Over a long holiday weekend he wrote the computer code. At first, a trickle

of users arrived at his website-including his girlfriend, who traded PEZ candy dispensers. By the end

of 1995, several thousand auctions had been completed and interest in eBay was growing. And it grew

and grew. From this modest beginning, eBay has become a global giant, with around 150m registered

users worldwide who are set to buy and sell goods worth more than $40 billion this year.

     The remarkable tale of eBay’s growth points to some important lessons for any business trying to

operate online-and today that includes, one way or another, most firms. The commercial opportunities

presented by an expanding global web seem almost limitless. But the pace of change is rapid, and so

is the ferocity（激烈）of competition. To succeed, firms need agility(灵活), an open mind and the

ability to reinvent themselves repeatedly. Most of all, they need to listen carefully to their customers,

paying close attention to what they do and don’t want.

     Such qualities, of course, would be valuable in any kind of business. Yet for online firms they are

not a luxury, but necessary for mere survival. This is true for a variety of reasons. The internet is not

only growing, but changing rapidly-which, in turn, changes the rules of the game for any business

relying on it. The barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses,

which means that just keeping track of your existing rivals is not enough. These may not represent the

greatest competitive threat tomorrow or the next day. That could come from a number of

directions-a firm in a different type of online business; one that does not yet exist; or even from one

of your own customers. On top of all this, the behavior of many consumers is constantly changing

as well, as individuals discover new ways to shop and interact with each other via the web.

     All these factors make the internet a dangerous place to do business, as well as one full of

promise. eBay’s history demonstrates both of those things. It is probably safe to say that nothing

like eBay could have existed without the internet-or could have grown so fast. Even though there have

been signs of the firm’s blistering(快速的) pace slowing a bit in America, its most “mature” market,

there remain vast opportunities overseas, particularly, some argue, in China. Meg Whitman, eBay’s

chief executive, believes the company is still only at the beginning of what it could achieve.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A. To introduce the founder of eBay and his girlfriend.

B. To demonstrate how clever the founder of eBay is.

C. To show how eBay started and has grown.

D. To introduce eBay to people.

2. Which of the following best summarizes Pierre Omidyar’s intention with regard to eBay?

A. To set up a global internet business.

B. To allow people to freely buy and sell on the internet at acceptable prices.

C. To set up a mechanism on the internet to allow people to trade at true market prices.

D. To se up a business mechanism for his girlfriend.

3. Which of these is it NOT necessary for a company selling on the internet to do?

A. Have the most competitive price for each of their online products.

B. Be able to change to suit the prevailing（流行的，优势的）market conditions.

C. Be prepared to consider all options and alternatives.

D. Have a good idea of what their customers do not want.

4. What does “barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses”

       in paragraph 3 mean?

A. It is easier to set up an internet business than a conventional one.

B. Internet trade is growing faster than traditional business sector.

C. It is cheaper to set up an internet business than a traditional one.

D. Companies generally prefer to do business online rather than offline.

5. Why does the article conclude that the internet “is a dangerous place to do business”?

A. Because companies that sell online may be unreliable.

B. Because there are no controls on doing business on the internet.

C. Because doing business online is unpredictable.

D. Because even companies like eBay have problems doing business online.

Almost every day the media discovers an African American community fighting some form of environmental threat from land fills, garbage dumps, petrochemical plants, refineries, bus depots, and the list goes on. For years, residents watched helplessly as their communities became dumping grounds.
But citizens didn’t remain silent for long. Local activists have been organizing under the mantie of environmental justice since as far back as 1968. More than three decades ago, the concept of environmental justice had not registered on the radar screens of many environmental or civil rights groups. But environmental justice fits squarely under the civil rights umbrella. It should not be forgotten that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Memphis on an environmental and economic justice mission in 1968, seeking support for striking garbage workers who were underpaid and whose basic duties exposed them to environmentally hazardous conditions.
In 1979, a landmark environmental discrimination lawsuit filed in Houston, followed by similar litigation efforts in the 1980s, rallied activists to stand up to corporations and demand government intervention.
In 1991, a new breed of environmental activists gathered in Washington, D.C. , to bring national attention to pollution problems threatening low-income and minority communities. Leaders introduced the concept of environmental justice, protesting that Black, poor and working-class communities often received less environmental protection than White or more affluent communities. The first National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit effectively broadened what "the environment" was understood to mean. It expanded the definition to include where we live, work, play, worship and go to school, as well as the physical and natural world. In the process, the environmental justice movement changed the way environmentalism is practiced in the United States and, ultimately, worldwide.
Because many issues identified at the inaugural summit remain unaddressed, the second National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit was convened in Washington, D.C. , this past October. The second summit was planned for 500 delegates ; but more than 1,400 people attended the four-day gathering.
"We are pleased that the Summit Ⅱ was able to attract a record number of grassroots activists, academicians, students, researchers, planners, policy analysts and government officials. We proved to the world that our movement is alive and well, and growing," says Beverly Wright, chair of the summit. The meeting produced two dozen policy papers that show powerful environmental and health disparities between people of color and Whites.

More than three decades ago, environmental justice was ______.

A．controversial among local activities

B．first proposed by Martin Luther King Jr.

C．fascinating to the civil rights groups

D．barely realized by many environmentalists