12月三套长篇阅读.docx

12月三套长篇阅读.docx

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Theriseofthesharingeconomy

Lastnight40000peoplerentedaccommodationfromaservicethatoffers250000roomsin30000citiesin192countries.Theychosetheirroomsandpaidforeverythingonline.Buttheirbedswereprovidedbyprivateindividuals,ratherthanahotelchain.HostsandguestswerematchedupbyAirbnb,afirmbasedinSanFrancisco.Sinceitslaunchin2008morethan4millionpeoplehaveusedit—-2.5millionofthemin2012alone.Itisthemostprominentexampleofahugenew"sharingeconomy",inwhichpeoplerentbeds,cars,boatsandotherassetsdirectlyfromeachother,co-ordinateviatheinternet.

A）Youmightthinkthisisnodifferentfromrunningabed-and-breakfast（家庭旅店）,owningatimeshare（分时度假房）orparticipatinginacarpool.Buttechnologyhasreducedtransactioncosts,makingsharingassetscheaperandeasierthanever—andthereforepossibleonamuchlargerscale.Thebigchangeistheavailabilityofmoredataaboutpeopleandthings,whichallowsphysicalassetstobedividedandconsumedasservices.Beforetheinternet,rentingasurfboard,apowertooloraparkingspacefromsomeoneelsewasfeasible,butwasusuallymoretroublethanitwasworth.NowwebsitessuchasAirbnb,RelayRidesandSnapGoodsmatchupownersandrenters；smartphoneswithGPSletpeopleseewherethenearestrentablecarisparked;socialnetworksprovideawaytocheckuponpeopleandbuildtrust;andonlinepaymentsystemshandlethebilling.

What'smineisyours,forafee

B）Justaspeer-to-peerbusinesseslikeeBayallowanyonetobecomearetailer,sharingsitesletindividualsactasanadhoc（临时的）taxiservice,car-hirefirmorboutiquehotel（精品酒店〉asandwhenitsuitsthem.Justgoonlineordownloadanapp.Themodelworksforitemsthatareexpensivetobuyandarewidelyownedbypeoplewhodonotmakefulluseofthem.Bedroomsandcarsarethemostobviousexamples,butyoucanalsorentcampingspacesinSweden,fieldsinAustraliaandwashingmachinesinFrance.Asadvocatesofthesharingeconomyliketoputit,accesstrumps（胜过）ownership.

C）RachelBotsman,theauthorofabookonthesubject,saystheconsumerpeer-to-peerrentalmarketaloneisworth$26billion.Broaderdefinitionsofthesharingeconomyincludepeer-to-peerlendingorputtingasolarpanelonyourroofandsellingpowerbacktothegrid（电网）.Anditisnotjustindividuals;thewebmakesiteasierforcompaniestorentoutspareofficesandidlemachines,too.Butthecoreofthesharingeconomyispeoplerentingthingsfromeachother.

D）Such"collaborative（合作的）consumption"isagoodthingforseveralreasons.Ownersmakemoneyfromunderusedassets.AirbnbsayshostsinSanFranciscowhorentouttheirhomesdosoforanaverageof58nightsayear,making$9300.CarownerswhorenttheirvehiclestoothersusingRelayRidesmakeanaverageof$250amonth；somemakemorethan$1000.Renters,meanwhile,paylessthantheywouldiftheyboughttheitemthemselves,orturnedtoatraditionalprovidersuchasahotelorcar-hirefirm.Andthereareenvironmentalbenefits,too:

rentingacarwhenyouneedit,ratherthanowningone,meansfewercarsarerequiredandfewerresourcesmustbedevotedtomakingthem.

E）Forsociablesouls,meetingnewpeoplebystayingintheirhomesispartofthecharm.Curmudgeons（低脾气的人）whoimaginethateveryrenterisamurderercanstillstayatconventionalhotels.Forothers,thewebfosterstrust.Aswellasthebackgroundcheckscarriedoutbyplatformowners,onlinereviewsandratingsareusuallypostedbybothpartiestoeachtransaction,whichmakesiteasytospotbaddrivers,bathrobe-thievesandsurfboard-wreckers.ByusingFacebookandothersocialnetworks,participantscancheckeachotheroutandidentifyfriends（orfriendsoffriends）incommon.AnAirbnbuserhadherapartmenttrashedin2011.Buttheremarkablethingishowwellthesystemusuallyworks.

Peeringintothefuture

F）Theshyingeconomyisalittlelikeonlineshopping,whichstartedinAmerica15yearsago.Atfirst,peoplewereworriedaboutsecurity.Buthavingmadeasuccessfulpurchasefrom,say,Amazon,theyfeltsafebuyingelsewhere.Similarly,usingAirbnboracar-hireserviceforthefirsttimeencouragespeopletotryotherofferings.Next,considereBay.Havingstartedoutasapeer-to-peermarketplace,itisnowdominatedbyprofessional“powersellers"（manyofwhomstartedoutasordinaryeBayusers）.Thesamemayhappenwiththesharingeconomy,whichalsoprovidesnewopportunitiesforenterprise.Somepeoplehaveboughtcarssolelytorentthemout,forexample.

G）Existingrentalbusinessesaregettinginvolvedtoo.Avis,acar-hirefirm,hasashareinasharingrival.SodoGMandDaimler,twocarmakers,infuture,companiesmaydevelophybrid（混合的）models,listingexcesscapacity（whethervehicles，equipmentorofficespace）onpeer-to-peerrentalsites.Inthepast,newwaysofdoingthingsonlinehavenotdisplacedtheoldwaysentirely.Buttheyhaveoftenchangedthem.JustasinternetshoppingforcedWal-martandTescotoadapt,soonlinesharingwillshakeuptransport,tourism,equipment-hireandmore.

H）Themainworryisregulatoryuncertainty.Willroom-rentersbesubjecttohoteltaxes,forexample?

InAmsterdamofficialsareusingAirbnblistingstotrackdownunlicensedhotels.InsomeAmericancities,peer-to-peertaxiserviceshavebeenbannedafterlobbyingbytraditionaltaxifirms.Thedangeristhatalthoughsomerulesneedtobeupdatedtoprotectconsumersfromharm,existingrentalbusinesseswilltrytodestroycompetition.Peoplewhorentoutroomsshouldpaytax,ofcourse,buttheyshouldnotberegulatedlikeaRitz-Carltonhotel.Thelighterrulesthattypicallygovernbed-and-breakfastsaremorethanadequate.

I）Thesharingeconomyisthelatestexampleoftheinternet'svaluetoconsumers.Thisemergingmodelisnowbiganddisruptive（颠覆性的）enoughforregulatorsandcompaniestohavewokenuptoit.Thatisasignofitsimmensepotential.Itistimetostartcaringaboutsharing.

注意：

此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46.Sharingitemssuchascarsdoesgoodtotheenvironment.

47.Airbnb'ssuccessclearlyillustratestheemergenceofahugesharingeconomy.

48.Themajorconcernaboutthesharingeconomyishowthegovernmentregulatesit.

49.Themostfrequentlyshareditemsarethoseexpensivetobuybutnotfullyused.

50.Thesharingeconomyhasapromisingfuture.

51.Onlinesharingwillchangethewaybusinessisdoneintransportation,travel,rentals,etc.

52.Airbnbisawebsitethatenablesownersandrenterstocompletetransactionsonline.

53.Thesharingeconomyislikelytogothewayofonlineshopping.

54.Oneadvantageofsharingisthatownersearnmoneyfromrentingoutitemsnotmadefulluseof.

55.Sharingappealstothesociableinthattheycanmeetnewpeople.

IsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?

A）Whyarewespendingsomuchmoneyoncollege?

Andwhyarewesounhappyaboutit?

Weallseemtoagreethatacollegeeducationiswonderful,andyetstrangelyweworrywhenweseefamiliesinvestingsomuchinthissupposedlyessentialgood.Maybeit'stimetoaskaquestionthatseemsalmostsacrilegious（大不敬的）：

isallthisinvestmentincollegeeducationreallyworthit?

B）Theanswer,Ifear,isno.Foranincreasingnumberofkids’theextratimeandmoneyspentpursuingacollegediplomawillleavethemworseoffthantheywerebeforetheysetfootoncampus.

C）Formyentireadultlife,agoodeducationhasbeenthemostimportantthingformiddle-classhouseholds.Myparentsspentmoreeducatingmysisterandmethantheyspentontheirhouse,andthey'renottheonlyones...and,ofcourse,foranincreasingnumberoffamilies,mostofthecostoftheirhouseisactuallythecostoflivinginagoodschooldistrict.Questioningthevalueofacollegeeducationseemsabitlikequestioningthevalueofhappiness,orfun.

D）Theaveragepriceofallgoodsandserviceshasrisenabout50percent.Butthepriceofacollegeeducationhasnearlydoubledinthattime.Istheeducationthattoday’sstudentsaregettingtwiceasgood?

Arenewworkerstwiceassmart?

Havetheybecomesomehowmassivelymoreexpensivetoeducate?

E）Perhapsabit.RichardVedder,anOhioUniversityeconomicsprofessor,says,‘.Ilookatthedata,andIseecollegecostsrisingfasterthaninflationuptothemid-1980sby1percentayear.NowIseethemrising3to4percentayearoverinflation.Whathashappened?

Thefederalgovernmenthasstarteddroppingmoneyoutofairplanes."Aidhasincreased,subsidized（补贴的）loanshavebecomeavailable,and"theuniversitieshavegottenthemoney."EconomistBryanCaplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees：

"It’sagiantwasteofresourcesthatwillcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue."

F）Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtasan"investmentinyourself."Butaninvestmentissupposedtogenerateincometopayofftheloans.Morethanhalfofallrecentgraduatesareunemployedorinjobsthatdonotrequireadegree,andtheamountofstudent-loandebtcarriedbyhouseholdshasincreasedmorethanfivetimessince1999.Thesegraduatesweretoldthatadiplomawasalltheyneededtosucceed,butitwon'tevengetthemoutofthesparebedroomatMomandDad's.Formany,themostvisibleresultoftheirfouryearsistheloanpayments,whichnowaveragehundredsofdollarsamonthonloanbalancesinthetensofthousands.

G）It’strueaboutthemoney—sortof.Collegegraduatesnowmake80percentmorethanpeoplewhohaveonlyahigh-schooldiploma,andthoughtherearenopreciseestimates,thewagepremium（高出的部分）foranoutstandingschoolseemstobeevenhigher.B