Passage Two

　　In 1998 consumers could purchase virtually anything over the Internet. Books, compact discs, and even stocks were available from World Wide Websites that seemed to spring up almost daily. 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 proving 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 Websites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal.

　　For all the consumers’ interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, however, Internet pioneer Amazon. com, which began selling books in 1995 and later 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 analysts 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 were thin or nonexistent. One video retailer sold the hit movie Titanic for $9.99, undercutting 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.

　　Questions 16-20 are based on Passage Two

　　16. According to the writer, which of the following is true?

　　A. Consumers are reluctant to buy things on the Internet.

　　B. Consumers are too busy to buy things on the Internet.

　　C. More and more consumers prefer Internet shopping.

　　D. Internet retailing is a profitable business.

　　17. Finding a bargain on the Internet was getting easier partly because _____.

　　A. there were more and more online auctions.

　　B. there were more and more Internet users.

　　C. the consumers had more money to spend.

　　D. there were more goods available on the Internet

　　18. “For all the consumer interest” (Para. 3) means _____.

　　A. to the interest of all the consumers

　　B. for the interest of all the consumers

　　C. all the consumers are much interested

　　D. though consumers are very much interested

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

　　A. is making a profit now

　　B. will probably make a profit in 2001

　　C. is a company that sells books only

　　D. suffers a great loss on the stock market

　　20. Investors are interested in Internet retailing because _____.

　　A. selling online involves little risk

　　B. Internet retailing is in its initial stage

　　C. they can make huge profits from

　　D. it can easily reach millions of consumers