问题 单项选择题

Several years ago, at the height of the dotcom boom, it was widely assumed that a publishing revolution, in which the printed word would be supplanted by the computer screen, was just around the corner. It wasn’t: for many, there is still little to match the joy of reading a printed book and settling down for one hour. But recently some big technology companies, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo, contend that the dream of bringing books online is still very much alive.

The digitizing of thousands of volumes of print is not without controversy. On Thursday, Google, the world’ s most popular search engine, posted a first installment of books on Google Print. This collaborative effort between Google and several world’s leading research libraries aims to make books available to be searched and read online free of charge. Although the books included so far are not covered by copyright, the plan has attracted the rage of publishers.

Five large book firms are suing Google for violating copyright on material that it has scanned and, although out of print, is still protected by law. Google has said that it will only publish short extracts from material under copyright unless given express permission to publish more, but publishers are unconvinced. Ironically, many publishers are collaborating with Google Print Publisher, which aims to give readers an online taste of books that are commercially available. The searchable collection of extracts and book information is intended to tempt readers to buy the complete books online or in print form.

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has made plans to enter the mass e-book market by selling a vast array of goods. Given that Google should impinge upon its central territory, Amazon revealed that it would introduce two new services. Amazon Pages will allow customers to search for key terms in selected books and then buy and read online whatever part they wish. Amazon Upgrade will give customers online access to books they have already purchased as hard copies. Customers are likely to have to pay five cents a page, with the bulk going to the publisher.

Microsoft has also joined the online-book trend. In October, the software giant said it would spend around $ 200 million to digitize texts, starting with I50,000 that are in the public domain, to avoid legal problems. It will do so in collaboration with the Open Content Alliance. And on Thursday, coincidentally the same day as Google and Amazon announced their initiatives, Microsoft released details of a deal with the British Library, the country’s main reference library, to digitize some 25 million pages ; these will be made available through MSN Book Search, which will be launched next year.

What is the text talking about()

A. The goods of Google

B. The differences between books printed and books online

C. Some big technology companies bring plans on the e-books

D. The publishers don’t agree with the e-books plan

答案

参考答案:C

解析:

文章一直在谈论什么。要想回答这道题,首先要通读全文,看看这几段一直在说什么问题。第一段提出了电脑阅读和印刷书阅读的特点,接着用but转折引出本文的主题,即在线阅读服务。第二、三段介绍了Google的在线图书行动,并指出在线图书存在的问题及其出版商对在线图书服务持矛盾的态度。第四、五段介绍了亚马逊公司和微软公司在线图书计划及行动。总之,本文一直在说各大技术公司纷纷推出在线图书服务的计划和行动,故答案选C。

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