首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Rise of the Sharing Economy A)Last night 40,000 people rented accommodation from a service that offers 250,000 rooms in 30,0
The Rise of the Sharing Economy A)Last night 40,000 people rented accommodation from a service that offers 250,000 rooms in 30,0
admin
2015-01-31
29
问题
The Rise of the Sharing Economy
A)Last night 40,000 people rented accommodation from a service that offers 250,000 rooms in 30,000 cities in 192 countries. They chose their rooms and paid for everything online. But their beds were provided by private individuals, rather than a hotel chain. Hosts and guests were matched up by Airbnb, a firm based in San Francisco. Since its launch in 2008 more than 4 million people have used it—2.5 million of them in 2012 alone. It is the most prominent example of a huge new "sharing economy", in which people rent beds, cars, boats and other assets directly from each other, coordinated via the internet.
B)You might think this is no different from running a bed-and-breakfast. Owning a time share or participating in a car pool. But technology has reduced transaction costs, making sharing assets cheaper and easier than ever—and therefore possible on a much larger scale. The big change is the availability of more data about people and things, which allows physical assets to be divided and consumed as services. Before the internet, renting a surfboard, a power tool or a parking space from someone else was feasible, but was usually more trouble than it was worth. Now websites such as Airbnb, Relay Rides and Snap Goods match up owners and renters; smart phones with GPS let people see where the nearest rentable car is parked; social networks provide a way to check up on people and build trust; and online payment systems handle the billing.
What’s mine is yours, for a fee
C)Just as peer-to-peer businesses like eBay allow anyone to become a retailer, sharing sites let individuals act as an ad hoc(临时的)taxi service, car-hire firm or boutique hotel(精品酒店)as and when it suits them. Just go online or download an app. The model works for items that are expensive to buy and are widely owned by people who do not make full use of them. Bedrooms and cars are the most obvious examples, but you can also rent camping spaces in Sweden, fields in Australia and washing machines in France. As advocates of the sharing economy like to put it, access trumps(胜过)ownership.
D)Rachel Botsman, the author of a book on the subject, says the consumer peer-to-peer rental market alone is worth $26 billion. Broader definitions of the sharing economy include peer-to-peer lending or putting a solar panel on your roof and selling power hack to the grid(电网). And it is not just individuals: the web makes it easier for companies to rent out spare offices and idle machines, too. But the core of the sharing economy is people renting things from each other.
E)Such "collaborative(合作的)consumption" is a good thing for several reasons. Owners make money from underused assets. Airbnb says hosts in San Francisco who rent out their homes do so for an average of 58 nights a year, making $ 9,300. Car owners who rent their vehicles to others using Relay Rides make an average of $250 a month; some make more than $1,000. Renters, meanwhile, pay less than they would if they bought the item themselves, or turned to a traditional provider such as a hotel or car-hire firm. And there are environmental benefits, too: renting a car when you need it, rather than owning one, means fewer cars are required and fewer resources must be devoted to making them.
F)For sociable souls, meeting new people by staying in their homes is part of the charm. Curmudgeons(脾气倔的人)who imagine that every renter is a murderer can still stay at conventional hotels. For others, the web fosters trust. As well as the background checks carried out by platform owners, online reviews and ratings are usually posted by both parties to each transaction, which makes it easy to spot bad drivers, bathrobe-thieves and surfboard-wreckers. By using Facebook and other social networks, participants can check each other out and identify friends(or friends of friends)in common. An Airbnb user had her apartment trashed in 2011. But the remarkable thing is how well the system usually works.
Peering into the future
G)The sharing economy is a little like online shopping, which started in America 15 years ago. At first, people were worried about security. But having made a successful purchase from, say, Amazon, they felt safe buying elsewhere. Similarly, using Airbnb or a car-hire service for the first time encourages people to try other offerings. Next, consider eBay. Having started out as a peer-to-peer marketplace, it is now dominated by professional "power sellers"(many of whom started out as ordinary eBay users). The same may happen with the sharing economy, which also provides new opportunities for enterprise; Some people have bought cars solely to rent them out, for example.
H)Existing rental businesses are getting involved too. Avis, a car-hire firm, has a share in a sharing rival. So do GM and Daimler, two carmakers. In future, companies may develop hybrid(混合的)models, listing excess capacity(whether vehicles, equipment or office. space)on peer-to-peer rental sites. In the past, new ways of doing things online have not displaced the old ways entirely. But they have often changed them. Just as internet shopping forced Wal-mart and Tesco to adapt, so online sharing will shake up transport, tourism, equipment-hire and more.
I)The main worry is regulatory uncertainty. Will room-renters be subject to hotel taxes, for example? In Amsterdam officials are using Airbnb listings to track down
unlicensed hotels. In some American cities, peer-to-peer taxi services have been banned after lobbying by traditional taxi firms. The danger is that although some rules need to be updated to protect consumers from harm, existing rental businesses will try to destroy competition. People who rent out rooms should pay tax, of course, but they should not be regulated like a Ritz-Carlton hotel. The lighter rules that typically govern bed-and-breakfasts are more than adequate.
J)The sharing economy is the latest example of the internet’s value to consumers. This emerging model is now big and disruptive(颠覆性的)enough for regulators and companies to have woken up to it. That is a sign of its immense potential. It is time to start caring about sharing.
The sharing economy is likely to go the way of online shopping.
选项
答案
G
解析
题干:分享经济很可能会采取网络销售的方式。题干关键词online shopping。文中G段第四句和第五句提到,第一次顺利使用Airbnb或者租车服务。可以鼓励人们尝试一些其他的供求渠道。下一个考虑的目标eBay,是一个网上购物平台,故本题选G。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/No4FFFFM
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
PoorpeoplehaveI.Q.’ssignificantlylowerthanthoseofrichpeople,andtheawkwardconventionalwisdomhasbeenthatthisis
PoorpeoplehaveI.Q.’ssignificantlylowerthanthoseofrichpeople,andtheawkwardconventionalwisdomhasbeenthatthisis
EarlierthisyearImetwithagroupofwomeninMatela,asmallfarmingvillageinTanzania,andwediscussedsomethingthat’s
A、Canceltheclass.B、Teachtheclass.C、Handoutexampapers.D、Collectstudents’homework.C女士说Ashley想让人帮她把期中考试的试卷发回去,男士说可以帮她,
WhyMinorityStudentsDon’tGraduatefromCollegeA)BarryMills,thepresidentofBowdoinCollege,wasjustifiablyproudofBowd
WhyMinorityStudentsDon’tGraduatefromCollegeA)BarryMills,thepresidentofBowdoinCollege,wasjustifiablyproudofBowd
A、Ittakespicturesonly.B、Itcannotdopaperwork.C、Itneedssomeonetoissuefines.D、Ittakespicturesanddoespaperwork.
Acidrain,whichisaformofairpollution,currentlybecomesasubjectofgreatdebatebecauseofwidespreadenvironmentaldam
A、Theyinvadethecomputerandmakeitaplaceformanufacturing.B、Theyspreadthroughoutthewholesystembyquicklycopyingt
A、Someoneelseshouldmaketheintroduction.B、Danisn’taverygoodviolinist.C、Therewillbeothermusicianstointroduce.D、
随机试题
下列具有化瘀止血作用的药物是
40岁男性工人,抬重物时突发腰部剧痛,并放射在左下肢后外侧,卧床时减轻,经对症治疗半月,疗效不显,后经CT检查诊断为腰5骶1椎间盘膨出,此时的治疗哪项不宜采用
牙槽突裂植骨术后拆线时间是
税收程序法是税法的核心部分。()
商检合格的出口商品,发货人应当在检验证书或放行单全发之日起( )天内报运出口,鲜活类出口商品应在规定期限内报运出口,逾期必须重新报验。
直接或间接持有上市公司已发行一定比例股份的自然人股东不得担任独立董事,该比例为()。
根据预算法律制度的规定,经国务院批准,省、自治区、直辖市政府可以适度举借债务,举借的债务只能用于特定支出。该特定支出是()。
白药历经百年历史,始终坚守国药立业之本,不懈追求自立自强。1999年,YN白药开始尝试应用到其他相关领域。经过五六年的精心研发,YN白药将其有效成分添加到个人医用护理产品中,YN白药气雾剂上市后受到了广大消费者的喜爱。同时,YN白药拒绝与创可贴的
AftertheviolentearthquakethatshookLosAngelesin1994,earthquakescientistshadgoodnewstoreport;Thedamageanddeath
HowtoAffordCollegeNowIt’saclassicgoodnews/badnewsmoment:thatfatenvelopeinthemailboxsignifiesthatyourc
最新回复
(
0
)