Amazon is facing a battle with UK publishers as it seeks to secure more advantageous terms in its latest round of contract negot

admin2014-11-27  19

问题     Amazon is facing a battle with UK publishers as it seeks to secure more advantageous terms in its latest round of contract negotiations. The web giant wants the right to print books itself if publishers fail to provide adequate stock, and wants publishers to match any pricing deals it offers to other distributers.
    "Print-on-demand"
    Among the new clauses of the contract negotiations were the right for Amazon to print its own copies of a book if a publisher runs out of stock. The Seattle-based company would do this using its "print-on-demand" equipment, and would require publishers to hand over electronic versions of their titles. The process, which can print books more quickly than a traditional press, is generally thought to offer an inferior product. Publishers are concerned that if Amazon used this method to print books, customers would blame them, and not the tech firm, for the quality.
    Another clause, known in the industry as a "most favoured nation"(MFN)proposal, asks publishers not to offer promotions to distributors without also offering them to Amazon. This would include selling books at a discount on the publishers’ own websites.     It also demands that publishers inform Amazon before offering e-book deals to other clients, and give the tech firm the same terms.
    One representative of a mid-sized firm said Amazon had become "increasingly cruel" in its negotiations, while another accused Amazon of "bullying".
    Publishers also said that Amazon generally prefers verbal agreements, and rarely documents its negotiations, but had done so in the latest round of talks, with one mid-sized firm saying this was the first time it had received correspondence outlining such terms.
    In a separate development, a German trade association has brought a complaint against Amazon to the country’s competition authorities, claiming the firm abused its market dominance.
    On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that the French government, in a bid to support the country’s small bookshops, has adopted a bill that will prevent Amazon and other online retailers from offering free deliveries of discounted books.
    But Mr Jones also emphasized the positive role Amazon has played in the bookselling industry. "The worst thing that could happen(to book publishers)would be for Amazon to go away," he said. "The second worst thing would be for it to become more dominant."
What’s the implied meaning of Mr Jones’ remarks?

选项 A、Amazon is harmful to the bookselling industry.
B、The bookselling industry should get rid of Amazon sooner.
C、Amazon is not crucial to the bookselling industry.
D、Amazon plays a vital role in the bookselling industry.

答案D

解析 推断题。从他的话The worst thing that could happen(to book publishers)would be for Amazon to goaway可知出版商离不开亚马逊,即亚马逊扮演了重要角色。A选项,亚马逊对于图书出版业有害的意思不是他的话的重点,C选项,亚马逊对出版业不重要与文章的意思相反,B选项,出版业要尽快摆脱亚马逊,与他的话恰恰相反,因此,正确答案是D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/QWgFFFFM
0

最新回复(0)