A
There’s no shortage of web sites offering deals-everything from daily deals to members-only private sales. But when it comes to real jaw-dropping deals, there’s one company that seems to have figured out a way to really deliver.
The company is called Quibids and they auction the hottest, in-demand electronics like Apple ipads and ipods, as well as other items like gift cards from the top retailers. Unlike other sites, the prices people pay are nowhere near retail. How low are the prices?
$ 33.84 for a new Apple ipad 32 GB(retail $ 600)
$ 22.10 for a new Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera(retail $ 1070)
Our first reaction on seeing these prices was disbelief. After all, how could Quibids possibly afford to sell these items for so little — surely they must be losing a lot of money.
That’s where its unique business model comes into play. You see, for every bid a buyer places for an item on Quibids, the company collects a small fee from the bidder. The fee to bid is only about 60 cents, but based on the volume of sales and bids, the company is able to collect enough to make up for the ridiculous prices the items sell for.
But best of all, participating in the Quibids auction is incredibly fun. Because each bid costs a little to place, shoppers can strategize when to place their bids. Each auction has a strict time limit. When you place your bid, the system adds a little time to the auction to see if any other bids come in. If you have the winning bid when the clock runs out — you win the item for that price.
But the best part of Quibids may be the “Buy-It-Now” feature. This allows bidders who did not win an auction to still buy the product they want and apply the cost of the bids they placed as a discount on the regular product price. So you still get the item and the bids you placed previously in the auction don’t cost you anything!
1. According to the passage, the success of Quibids mainly lies in ________.
A. their willingness to risk losing money B. the change in people’s shopping model
C. the quality of the goods and service D. how its buying and selling is conducted
2. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. other retailers will be out of business B. the prices on Quibids are the lowest
C. Quibids only sell popular electronics D. winning a bid is not just a matter of luck
3. A buyer who bid twice for a $ 20 MP4 can get one from “Buy-It-Now” for ________.
A. $ 21.2 B. $ 20 C. $ 19.4 D. $ 18.8
4. Which might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. The Most Successful Shopping Website B. How to Buy New Must–have Electronics
C. Buy Products for Next to Nothing D. Tips on Shopping Online
【答案】1. D 2. D 3. D 4. C
【解析】
【分析】這是一篇說(shuō)明文。文章主要說(shuō)明了Quibids拍賣(mài)網(wǎng)站可以不花什么成本購(gòu)買(mǎi)東西。
【1題詳解】
細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第三段“That’s where its unique business model comes into play. You see, for every bid a buyer places for an item on Quibids, the company collects a small fee from the bidder. The fee to bid is only about 60 cents, but based on the volume of sales and bids, the company is able to collect enough to make up for the ridiculous prices the items sell for.(這就是它獨(dú)特的商業(yè)模式發(fā)揮作用的地方。你看，買(mǎi)家在Quibids上每投一次價(jià)，該公司就會(huì)從競(jìng)標(biāo)者那里收取一小筆費(fèi)用。競(jìng)拍費(fèi)用僅為60美分左右，但根據(jù)銷(xiāo)售額和競(jìng)拍量，該公司能夠籌集到足夠的資金，以彌補(bǔ)這些物品的荒唐售價(jià))”可知，Quibids的成功主要在于它的買(mǎi)賣(mài)進(jìn)行的方式。故選D。
【2題詳解】
推理判斷題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段“But best of all, participating in the Quibids auction is incredibly fun. Because each bid costs a little to place, shoppers can strategize when to place their bids. Each auction has a strict time limit. When you place your bid, the system adds a little time to the auction to see if any other bids come in. If you have the winning bid when the clock runs out — you win the item for that price.(但最棒的是，參加Quibids拍賣(mài)非常有趣。因?yàn)槊看纬鰞r(jià)都要花很少的錢(qián)，所以購(gòu)物者可以考慮什么時(shí)候出價(jià)。每次拍賣(mài)都有嚴(yán)格的時(shí)間限制。 當(dāng)你出價(jià)時(shí)，系統(tǒng)會(huì)給拍賣(mài)增加一點(diǎn)時(shí)間，看看是否有其他出價(jià)。如果你在時(shí)間快到的時(shí)候中標(biāo)了，你就贏得了這個(gè)價(jià)格的物品)”可推知，贏得競(jìng)標(biāo)不僅僅是運(yùn)氣的問(wèn)題，要考慮出價(jià)的時(shí)間。故選D。
【3題詳解】
細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第三段中“The fee to bid is only about 60 cents(競(jìng)拍費(fèi)用僅為60美分左右)”以及最后一段“This allows bidders who did not win an auction to still buy the product they want and apply the cost of the bids they placed as a discount on the regular product price.(這使得沒(méi)有贏得拍賣(mài)的競(jìng)標(biāo)者仍然可以購(gòu)買(mǎi)他們想要的產(chǎn)品，并將他們投標(biāo)的成本作為常規(guī)產(chǎn)品價(jià)格的折扣)”可知，一個(gè)為20美元的MP4出價(jià)兩次的買(mǎi)家可以從“現(xiàn)在就買(mǎi)”網(wǎng)站以20-1.2（0.6*2）=18.8美元購(gòu)得一個(gè)。故選D。
【4題詳解】
主旨大意題。根據(jù)最后一段中“So you still get the item and the bids you placed previously in the auction don’t cost you anything!( 所以你仍然得到項(xiàng)目和你之前在拍賣(mài)中放置的出價(jià)不花費(fèi)你任何東西！)”結(jié)合文章主要說(shuō)明了Quibids拍賣(mài)網(wǎng)站可以不花什么成本購(gòu)買(mǎi)東西？芍，C選項(xiàng)“花很少的錢(qián)購(gòu)買(mǎi)產(chǎn)品”最符合文章標(biāo)題。故選C。
