2. 外语
  3. Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are

Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are

admin2015-03-28  59
问题     Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too wary of piracy and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and HarperCollins license e-books with most libraries. The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting. In August, for example, Penguin will start a pilot with public libraries in New York.
    Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money (neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap). If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then?
    Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night, from a comfy sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due (which means no late fees, nor worry about lost or damaged books).
    Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value. You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm. Owning a book is useful if you want to savour (品尝) it repeatedly, but who reads "Fifty Shades of Grey" twice?
    E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats, devices and licences. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Some 35m titles were checked out through OverDrive in 2011, and the company now sends useful data on borrowing behaviour to participating publishers. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.
    Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers, and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries, and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.
    So publishers keep tweaking ( 对……稍作调整) their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and HarperCollins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times. Penguin plans to keep new releases out of libraries for at least six months, and each book will expire after a year. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
What is the advantage of electronic borrowing?
选项 A、There is no need to worry about deadlines.
B、It can pay for the late fees automatically.
C、Readers can lend the book files to their friends.
D、It is much cheaper than traditional printed books.
答案A
解析 第3段提到借阅电子产品的便利性，其中末句指出，图书文件一旦到期，就会自动从设备上消失(也就是说，既没有违约金，也不用担心丢失或损坏图书)，由此可见，电子产品借阅的优势就在于人们不必为归还书籍的最后期限而担心，故A)符合题意。文中说的是no late fees，故不存在支付违约金的问题，B）可以排除。根据第4段第2句You can not resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm．可以排除C)。根据第2段第2句中的neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap可以排除D）。
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