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.
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
参考答案：B
解析：
[试题类型] 主旨要义题。
[解题思路] 本题要求选定文章的最佳标题，实际上是考查考生对文章主旨大意的把握。通读原文可知，文章首段简单介绍了长尾理论的创立及其在美国风靡一时的状况。第二段作者指出，一般商家靠大量销售热销商品赢利，而互联网商城可以通过提供各式各样的产品来赚钱，这也是长尾理论的初步应用。第三段作者进一步指出，由于长尾理论，那些不出名的产品会变得越来越为人们所接受，许多公司的经验表明，把位于统计分布图长尾区域的大量产品的销售量累计起来，也能获得高额利润。第四段，作者指出，不仅是商业公司，整个文化界都会受益于长尾理论。综上所述，文章主要阐述了长尾理论在商界和文化界的应用，选项[B]“长尾理论能做什么”符合文章的主旨大意。
[干扰排除] 选项[A]“长尾理论的创立”仅在第一段略有提及，不是文章主要讨论的内容。选项[C]的“二八定律”出现在第三段，但作者提及“二八定律”是为了证明长尾理论在商界越来越得到认可，作者并没有将两种理论进行比较说明，故选项[C]不是文章讨论的重点。作者在文中最后一段提及通俗文化的相关内容，意在说明长尾理论在文化界的应用，并没有讲到通俗文化的衰退，故选项[D]错误。